From Asgard to Midgard
by Scarabeye3000
Summary: Hiccup catches the attention of the Asgardian Gods and is saved just before his supposed 'death' against the Red Death. Years later, he comes back and slays Drago. Shall we read on then? Take some time to read through it, you might like what you see.(Image: Neroth of Thousand Deaths by Author)
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Any characters mentioned are all under copyright. This work is purely fan-made.**

**Title: From Asgard to Midgard**

**Author: Scarabeye 3000**

**Chapter 1: 'Odin, help him'**

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Dragon Island

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A sleek black Night Fury's scales glimmered in the half-light as it flew through the sea spires on the unforgiving place known as Dragon Island. Turning at almost the last second, both the dragon and the young boy on its back seemed mighty and fearless to the sight of the Vikings holding their gaze at him. Behind the flying duo, almost a wing beat away, the titanic size of a six eyed, coral-skinned monstrosity barreled after them in its terrific fury

The whole village, shell-shocked at the enemy waiting for them at Helheims Gate stood agape at the spectacle. The 300 strong armed Vikings of the Hairy Hooligan Tribe steeled themselves on the coming confrontation. Both the dragon and the young boy on its back held all their sights as he cajoled his winged beast into ever shocking feats of bravery.

Swerving left and right, he evaded the snapping maw that could easily chew him into pieces.

Looking back at the past, there was actually anything remarkable with the boy, he was reedy, pretty small for a Viking and covered in reddish freckles. He couldn't lift an axe to kill a dragon, nor follow strict orders from their Chief who happens to also be his father. To sum it all up, he is, for a lack of a better term, extremely useless as a Viking.

But now as everyone watched him defy the norms of Viking order, break tradition and make death chase after him. Almost all spectators have lumps on their throats, some wait with bated breath as the gigantic dragon snapped its maw on the smaller dragon. No sea stack was safe as the great enemy bulldozed its great heft through everything, showering its prey with a deluge of smaller pebbles. Hiccup however, held fast and did not break their flight, nor flinch, nor deviate so hard as not to lose the interest of their enemy.

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Their people, his friends, all were not safe. She was not safe.

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The Hairy Hooligans held their gaze at the least of the younger generations, nay, probably the greatest of them all. For hundreds of years he was the only one to ride a dragon, both in the defense of their village and their homes. Regrettably, they can only see it now, and as both he and his dragon climbed to the clouds, they could only send their earnest prayers to the home of the Gods.

As they vanished in the sky, darkened with low rain clouds and volcanic ash spewing forth from a nearby active volcano, they continuously taunted their enemy. Hiccup urged Toothless and the Night Fury roared in defiance of their fate. From below, the last of the gigantic enemy's coral-like tail went up to the clouds and was obscured by the darkened sky, all eyes affixed to the heavens as they yearned to witness the spectacle of a lifetime. But not even the new riders, Astrid, Snotlout, the twins or Fishlegs dare to follow, lest they or anyone else would be put in harms way. All could only hope that he would survive this battle, and send whispered supplications to the Gods that whatever their faults or stubbornness, or stereo-typing in regards to Hiccup has brought them.

_"Make him safe; do not deny us the chance to redeem ourselves in his eyes."_

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The Chief of the Hooligan did not peel away his gaze of disbelief, when exactly had his son grow up so much, and so quickly. Is he that busy with the village and the duties of being Chief that his disappointed expectations clouded his judgments and right treatment to his son. Whatever are his short-comings; all seemed moot now, as his son flew on the back of his dragon and drew the great enemy.

Bitterly he remembered the same enemy he was trying to warn him about. Yet he was too stubborn to see what danger he was befalling his tribe, it weighed heavily upon him, as a Chief and as a father.

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With a cold churning in his gut, he peeled his eyes away from the clouds and sighed. A nervous beat in his chest signaled something catastrophic could go wrong and a feeling of helplessness enveloped the large man as he saw his son vanish into the roiling clouds.

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Suddenly, explosions behind the clouds made everyone flinch. Hidden from sight plasma fire explosions peppered the sky as the silhouette of the great enemy illuminated the black clouds like some twisted sense of shadow art. All stood transfixed, awe, fear, excitement, and raw emotions roiled within them as the battle unfolded before their eyes. Roars from the Night Fury followed by the sound of a whistling dive a second later, then the sight and sound of the plasma blast a few moments later held all faces enthralled. Time seemed to stretch as hit after hit, explosion after explosion ripped through the clouds as the great enemy screeched in frustration at its more agile enemy.

Then large swaths of clouds dispersed as a great stream of fire engulfed the heavens. The Red Death outraged with being outfoxed by a smaller dragon resorted to measures only it can do. It unleashed a fire storm from its cavernous belly, a continuous stream of fire and methane that burned the surrounding area of sky and enveloped the black sky in an orange and angry glow.

Stoick could see that the gigantic dragon spew its fire storm in wide inconsistent arcs. Its anger seemed terrible to behold, and like a wounded animal it charged blindly and fought back with a terrific intensity it shook the humans to their knees to witness such wanton show of power. Suddenly as the last of the fire storm dispersed into the air, a black blur hurtled towards the flying monstrosity, a few moments later and two explosions jarred it from the sides as it quickly passed again and executed a timed free fall dive.

Seeming to be an impossible effort, the titanic dragon slowly turned in mid-air, snapping its jaw desperately at the Night Fury's already falling form. Roaring in frustration it reared its head back and made a motion to dive after its prey. Sure enough the two dragon adversaries returned to their usual game of tag, except that this time, one would fall to a fiery death.

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As the two dragons plummeted, the Chief of Berk held his war hammer tighter and looked up into the heavens pleadingly.

"Oh great and wise, Odin Allfather- in all my years of breathing I have not called upon your name lest in vain," the whistling of the Night Fury as it dove to the ground reached their ears and his whispered prayers hastened, "-I have not fully mourned my wife, nor did I welcome nor sent her spirit in tradition to meet you in the halls of Valhalla-"

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From her safe spot Astrid Hofferson also clenched her hands together as soon as she knew what he was going to do. It was plain suicide, and she did not want to think about the results of his plan should it fail. Either way, it would always be death.

"-hear me now, Allfather, I beseech you now as a father yourself to your many children…" he looked up bitterly into the sky as the titanic dragon finally came into view, it looked even larger in the sky, "- please preserve my son Great One. Don't let his stars fall from the sky, don't let him burn to ashes with dragon fire, save him for he is mine of blood. Give me this chance, just one chance to make everything right."

The Red Death suddenly trailed greenish smoke as all held their breaths with the coming fire storm. If he should perish, then all life will perish and Berk shall be no more. The Night Fury continued its dive, almost oblivious to the danger chasing them to the ground.

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Far above them, the clouds parted exactly on their flight path as a heavenly light illuminated them from above. As the monstrous dragon inhaled, the Night Fury turned in a blink of an eye, and in a move of such controlled behavior shot a blue plasma ball into the accumulated methane gas in their enemy's gaping maw. The enemy was stunned, its six eyes unfocused and its breath seemed ragged as the attack derailed its already building offensive momentum.

Precious time was lost as Hiccup cajoled Toothless to fly back up into the sky. With their enemy winded and stunned, it was a simple task to weave away from the snapping jaws and wait for the inevitable demise of their enemy.

Finally regaining its senses, the monster's eyes widened as the view of the ground quickly flooded its already diminished eyesight. In desperation it quickly opened its wings to stop, but it felt no decrease in the dive. The enemy roared in pain and confusion, realization dawned on it as the two canvas-like wings was peppered with holes. Toothless' attack had opened the cartilaginous parts of the skin, and gravity tore it open with a vengeance as the large bulk of the dragon destroyed itself apart. The titan dragon bellowed a terrific and guttural roar as it impacted the ground, its bones breaking and skull shattering sounded like thunder as its methane reserves quickly mixed with the air and exploded in a gigantic pillar of fire consuming the body of the enemy and everything else around it.

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All of Berk saw, before they even made a dive to the ground that there was something wrong with the Night Fury. Dragons were never supposed to trail smoke, and compared to its movements from before, it seemed sluggish to all of them. But they could not comprehend the feeling of fear and dread that Hiccup suddenly felt as the leather tailfin he designed didn't even respond for a bit. They were losing height and he could feel it, even Toothless could feel it as he mightily fought the effects of gravity, but fate has already decided. From the cloud of smoke the enemy's bulbous tail loomed in front of them and easily smacked him off the saddle. Stars spun on his mind, but not before the sight of Toothless clawing for him, a piercing heavenly light, and the enveloping fire drove him to oblivion.

Astrid and everyone else, including Stoick, gasped as the roiling flame from the explosion enveloped both Hiccup and his dragon. She screamed shamelessly at the terror that gripped her, the coldness and hopelessness.

Gobber quickly grabbed his friend in the arm as he made a run for the billowing firestorm, "What are ye doin' Stoick!?"

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"My son is over there Gobber!?"

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"Aye! And what good would ye be to him!?" his face covered in sweat, soot and tears, heart pounding for the safety of his apprentice and furious at what the fates have thrown at them, "At least stay 'ere and wait 'till the fire settles a bit!"

"SON!" his cry was guttural and unshed tears almost blinded him, "HICCUP!"

Murmurs rolled around the huddled Vikings as the shock wave swept over them, ash and embers rained from the sky at the titan dragon's explosive death. Like the soft snow on a new winter morning, it blanketed everyone in ash and grime, weighing heavily on both their minds and feelings on the fate of their heroic rider. He seemed to have died, they were enveloped by dragon fire and its following firestorm, and everything seemed hopeless.

Now Vikings never feared death, they actually embrace it since it is an occupational hazard being a Viking and all, but they all knew that he didn't deserve that fiery fate after all he did for them. When the dust finally settled a bit, the Chief of Berk ran to the supposed crash site with Gobber in tow, he ran with the haste of a man whose chasing death. His old friend caught up, running much faster than his peg leg could have ever carried him normally.

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"HICCUP!" he cried out desperately, he had long ago lost Valka, please not him too, "SON! Where are you!?"

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From afar, his friend's hoarse voice called out, "Hiccup! Where are ye' lad?"

There was no other sound apart from their ragged breathing; the surviving villagers finally caught up and had begun combing the surrounding area, hoping against certainty of his fiery end.

"There's nothing here!" someone shouted from the group, "We can't see him-"

"This is not good-" Gobber sidled next to the Chief, "Fire of that intensity is one thing, but it couldn't have melted the metals he must have used on the fake tailfin."

"Melted? How can you say that!?" the Chief had panic creeping into his voice, "The fire was surely intense, but it couldn't melt metal that easily now could it- I know he's not here. We have to find him!"

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"Sir-"

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"I know tha' lad, he's my apprentice mind you," the blonde Viking shook his head and sighed, "He probably worked the metal to resist dragon fire, but not that intensity- I mean, that fire storm flayed all our ships to pieces in one go."

Stoick sighed, weariness etched in his voice, "What are you implying then?"

"Sir-"

"Maybe, he be swatted to the sea-" Gobber gestured to the sea, unsure even of his answer, "Believe me old friend, I would not like to personally think he perished in the fire storm- but in all likely-"

"He is NOT consumed by the firestorm," Stoick almost threatened his friend with his war hammer, "He's somewhere else here- everyone start looking for him!" he gestured to everyone behind them as he started calling out again, "HICCUP!"

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"SIR!" Astrid's voice finally became too insistent that both the Chief and the village blacksmith looked at her.

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"What is it lass?"

She didn't answer, instead she silently pointed into a specific spot in the ground right next to her. They approached her and they finally saw what she was talking about. A large circular symbol was burned into the ground, it was still smoldering yet no fire seemed evident can trace the perfect symmetrical shapes and ornate symbols burned to the ground. Both old men had their mouths open in confusion in surprise.

The symbol was surprisingly burned into the ashen ground, yet there were no ashes covering it. On the contrary, any ash that would noticeably cover it mysteriously degrades into powder.

All three of them looked at the center of the drawing and gaze at it in full. The symbol was a circular one, yet in the center a white tree with ornate roots trailing from the edges to the center, enveloped the tree in an interconnecting manner. The numerous runes on the sides they could not commit to memory nor can they remember the exact translations, for the exact ones were lost in the times of their ancestors. Yet one symbol remained that burned into their memories. A symbol both feared and worshiped by all Vikings in the Barbaric Archipelago and beyond where the Norse faith lies.

"Unless I've kicked the bucket and am in Valhalla- I don't think I should see that rune yet." Gobber shook his head in disbelief, "I only saw that rune once in my youth, I remember teachings made by Gothi and that one I can't really forget. That my friend is the holy rune sign of the Allfather-"

The Chief was not listening so he didn't even reply; he could only stare at it in disbelief and then looked up into the sky. Astrid, still silent after all their exchange also looked up and frowned. What they saw made them wonder in fear and disbelief.

There was a receding rainbow from the sky.

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Somewhere

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Hiccup felt immense body pain, although he was no stranger to pain, considering he was used to be picked and teased upon, this was just excruciating. He was also tired, sore and most obviously still in pain. But bright lights danced inside his closed eyes and he was getting dizzy with the loss of his own bearings. Forcing open one eye, what he saw almost made his eyes jump out of their sockets.

He can see now that he was quickly hurtling through the heavens. Thousands of stars, in numerous colors, shapes and sizes as small as a dot and as large as his eye can see flooded past him in quick succession. His dragon, Toothless was silent beside him for a few moments before he grabbed his rider and wrapped him in his wings, protecting him in his own way. They were travelling as if floating on a bridge made of rainbow, seven exquisite colors dancing merrily as it carried him away to their destination.

Moving through space, his eyes absorbed each and every detail of the universe and its great spectacle before him. Stars going supernova, exploding in an expanse of light, some black voids that suck energy, even light from a nearby star. Flabbergasted at his fortune, he was still adjusting his thoughts and internal gyroscope when suddenly their speed doubled and something yanked both of them at the front of his own Y-fronts.

The rainbow path they were travelling upon suddenly opened into a bright, well-lit room as he gasped at where he's at. With a high circular ceiling, he couldn't even believe on the material used for the chamber.

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"You use pure gold as walls?" Toothless sidled next to him as he lay on the cold floor, but suddenly went low on the ground and growled at the approaching stranger. Hiccup, both confused and afraid of these strange phenomena that just happened to him awkwardly took a look at the stranger that approached them from behind.

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He was tall, taller than his father by a good foot and a half, his face was covered with numerous scars that speak volume of his character in battle, his body covered with the most intricate of artificer armor, his eyes sparkled with a thousand stars and his spear glimmered from where he stood. Two wolves stood up on the ready, docile and silent at their master's side. On his shoulder, a black crow was perched and he looked amusingly at him, as if a village elder would look at a curiosity.

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"Heil! Herra Drakonnis… kveojan dur Asgarour," the old warrior clad in shimmering gold artificer armor smiled at him in a grandfatherly sort of way, "… nafn mitt, Ooinn Allurfaoir."

Seriously, was he going to speak also like an elder- wait a second, something rang familiar with the old man's name.

He timidly stood up and brushed himself off, awkwardly he said, "S-should I know you? I can't even understand half of what-"

The old man gave a small laugh and looked at him once more, "Forgive me child, it has been a long time since I have walked Midgard and didn't know that the language you use have degenerated even further."

Wait a sec- what the Hel- Did he say Midgard!? Another much larger man clad again in golden artificer armor approached from behind and stood at the old warrior's left side and spoke respectfully in a deep voice as he bowed his great girth to the older male.

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"My lord, the Bifrost has been closed- I shall return to my post now."

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"Very well Heimdall, do so and look out for the events unfolding in Alfheim-"

Bifrost? Heimdall? Wait a minute here, children's stories of deities flooded his mind, something about a rainbow and- wait a sec- did he just say king!?

His heart hammering through his chest he analyzed the spear and almost fainted as Toothless, to unknown reason seemed to bow respectfully without once taking a peek at the old warrior.

"My name is Odin Allfather," the shining old man's voice carried sagely, "Welcome to Asgard, Hiccup Stoickson, Dragon master of Midgard."

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As the reality sunk in, the golden room spun uncontrollably and he finally fainted ungraciously in front of a God.

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To be continued.

**Author's note:**

So, I rewrote the first chapter just to give a good reviewer a view because I can see that it can get pretty confusing with PERIODS as my separators for the parenthesis.

Cheers everyone,

Scarabeye3000


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Any characters mentioned are all under copyright. This work is purely fan-made.**

**Title: From Asgard to Midgard**

**Author: Scarabeye 3000**

**Chapter 2: **_**'FOR ASGARD!'**_

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Berk 5 years later

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The waves from the cold sea crashed through the inlet as the docks were lined with trenches and wooden walls called palisades as the fortified town of Berk loomed in the distance, ballistae lined the higher cliff as the iron doors to the dragon stables were shut up for good. Outside, houses looked different as most is covered with a thick earthen sheet on the roofs and shingles. The people were in a charged mood as their Chief, Stoick the Vast walked from his house to the forge.

As he neared the forge, he saw his people hauling supplies, replacing burned armored scales and refilling the water barrels that line most houses these days. It had gone downhill from the loss of his son, to the Berserkers, then the Outcasts, then rouge dragons, the TWINS, his missing son again.

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Thor Almighty! Is it too much to ask for respite?

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However, a few months ago, a damaged longboat came to their shores and saw that it held women and children. The dragon riders, under the leadership of Astrid swooped to them and they ran terrified of the beasts, amidst the confusion and misunderstanding they were finally able to relay what fate had gave them. Their whole village was consumed by something dark, and rode on the wings of dragons, that is why they were afraid at first as the Shield maiden of Berk first arrived at the landing craft. After a lengthy clan meeting, the people that came in the longboats were assimilated into the village. It was weird since they only carried food and provisions, and any shadow of a weapon were not seen aboard. No man, old man or even a boy that could carry a sword came with them.

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After a week the same thing happened, first, it was one longboat, and then it became two, then three. They were coming from beyond the Barbaric Archipelago, a land unreached by their own anglers and longboats. Their stories were all the same, strange flying contraptions, unknown attackers on the backs of dragons. It would have been so hard to believe for Stoick if he heard it a couple of years ago, but now he was not so sure about this information. At first, they expected a trap with the influx of refugees, but no attack came… that is until a ship with black sails came within site of the island, its shields and battlements damaged and pierced by arrows and almost burned to cinder by dragon fire. Once more, Stoick came charging aboard his own dragon and searched the ship with a few of his men that managed to tame dragons of their own. The scene was just ghastly.

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The shields on the defenders of the longboat marked them as the Berserker- what the Hel!? They were all slaughtered to the last man. He ordered the whole ship searched and investigated, they saw the ship has actually a second deck, like a Greek Bireme. As they searched the top deck they saw Berserkers on the throes of Valhalla, some have passed on others pierced numerous times with unknown weapons and arrows unseen before by Berkians , while others seemed to melt where they have stood. It was ghastly and unsettling to look at; it was like looking back into the forgotten scenes after a dragon raid. Below deck, they saw more ghastly scenes, the Berserkers fought savagely even in this cramped space, but their bodies littered here. As they finally broke through the Captain's hold they saw a line of dead Vikings beneath a black armored Viking that stood propped up by the numerous spears and weapons piercing him, his eye bags evident even under his horned helm and a battle axe on his right hand held in a death grip now crusted with blood.

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It was Dagur the Deranged, locked in his death mask, slain by innumerable enemies.

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Even the Berserkers were not deemed safe from this threat, and judging from the series of attacks, from whole families, villages even these unsavory characters that sailed near Berk are affected. Something is definitely heading for the island, something sinister and unholy that endangers all the lives in and around Berk.

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Then after a month of preparations, a sight before him made him chill to the bones. There were three dragons on the horizon pulling a ship. The entire village gathered as the dragons landed and a man disembarked from the longboat. His words still made him crawl, and it was because of Hiccup he changed as a more patient listening man that the envoy's head didn't cave in by his hammer.

"Drago Bludvist, demands that Berk lay down all weapons, or be destroyed," the smug face of the envoy annoyed Astrid and the rest of the gang as he continued, "All men would accompany the horde's advance, and all must swear fealty to Lord Drago, God of Drag-"

He stopped as Stormfly walked into view and he pointed dumbfounded at the Nadder, "But- what the Hel-"

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The Chief stepped in and unclipped his war hammer, "You tell Drago this… he's not the only Dragon Rider in here. He better leave us alone, or else- now get on your ship, you may leave now with your lives."

The envoy haughtily looked at him and sneered, "I was a Chief once, just like you, proud of my heritage, my skill, my people, but when Drago came with his fleet of ships, his Dragon Horde, if you see them bearing down to you, then you'll know fear. You're so blinded if you think only a few dragons could stop him. I was once like you- what you're doing is futile and you are going to DIE."

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They left and Berk prepared for the worst, suddenly more ships carrying refugees, obviously displaced by Drago and his horde, as the village grew so as more Dragons helping with the chores. Fishing parties, hunting parties were organized, a few refugees that decided to stay started farming and the dragons were all helpful through everything. However, the feeling of dread creeps slowly but surely towards them, as the days grew colder. Finally, the first of the probing force came, a force of ten longboats paddled, but they were slaughtered by the catapults and ballistae that Hiccup designed before he vanished and their enemies were slaughtered from afar.

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That was the easy part.

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Soon the dragons came, they wore armor, and their riders carried arrows that also rained fire from above. It was a shooting fest, soon the bola launchers and ballistae were given armored sides to protect them from fire, but it seemed the horde of Drago couldn't be undone.

"Thor almighty, it has gone downhill hasn't it?"

Gobber walked up to the anvil and replaced his prosthetic arm with a different hammer, "You hafta hang in there old friend… well, certainly wer' old- but still."

"The village has gone forward and is considered a small town now, but the threat of Drago is very real. I just wish we could have seen this sooner."

"Well, you never know-"

They were cut off as a large horn, installed recently and just below Gothi's hut sounded. Both Viking rushed outside as Spitelout approached them pulling on the straps of his leather armor, "The long range scouts have reported, an armada approaches us, they carry the Golden 8-Pointed Star of Drago."

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The Chief of Berk turned to Gobber and nodded his head, the blacksmith raced inside and started digging through his stores, Stoick then turned to Spitelout, "Send word to the people, those who will fight to gather to the dock palisades since every entrance to Berk is through that sheer rock face. Arm yourselves to the full, I believe Drago would join this fight."

As Spitelout turned to instruct the men, the blacksmith returned carrying a larger warhammer inscribed by symbols and runes for supplication to the God of Lightning. He also carried a bronze colored lamellar armor that he draped over his chief.

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"Well, old friend," Gobber removed his prosthetic hammer and replaced it with a sword attachment, noticeably is his mail armor that he doesn't usually wear; "… guess we get to dine in Valhalla tonight."

"I'll save you a tankard of mead."

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The Great Hall emptied with its armed Vikings, the fleet was still a few hours away, but it pays to be prepared. Rocks for the catapults, great arrows for the ballistae, dragons were fed, rested, and ready to fight and fly. Swords, axes and spears were sharpened, shield bolts were tightened, and the palisades were even fortified. As they all march towards the town center they saw that their chief and his second in command Spitelout behind him.

As the town gathered around them, the brothers and Gobber stood on the pedestal and addressed the warriors with them.

"Spitelout, you will go to the docks and hold them there, sound the horn if it is too much for you, the catapults will support you and you must hold that area at all cost, Gobber-" the blacksmith hobbled near him and raised his sword, "You must keep the catapults, and ballistae to continue firing smoothly. You're in charge of support for the men at the docks and from the approaching armada, Skarrbran-" a young looking Viking with a skull tattooed on his exposed chest grinned at him, "-in case the enemy penetrates my brother's defenses, you will be in charge of pushing them forward together with your Berserker brethren."

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The last of the surviving Berserkers, eyes wide, red, and held under the trance of blood lust shouted as one, "BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!"

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'_The things I do for the village…' _Stoick shook his head and sighed, "When they land we fight them and we don't give an inch. Astrid-" the girl approached, her lamellar armor made from bone and square pieces of metal shone on her, "-I want you to be careful, if the dragon riders are too much then retreat near the island so that Gobber can assist you."

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She gave him a nod of her head and ran towards Stormfly, Snotlout didn't seem to flirt or joke around since the battle charged all of their friends, including them with a sense of seriousness. Like a single mistake, a single slip or error would mean life and death, and no one, not even Odin can change the future. Another horn blast made them run to their places as the first of the ships came towards the horizon. A very large ship was on the middle, much bigger than the flagship where they found the Berserker chieftain in.

Stoick shook his head as a shadow loomed over the armada and saw that it was actually hundreds of dragons charging towards them.

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'_So, it begins…'_

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Asgard

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A young man in bronze scale armor sighed as he walked the long bridge connecting the edge of Bifrost to the main hall of Odin. As he entered, a giant man in the same bronze artificer armor sighed as he felt the young man's approach.

"So, young man… come to pester me again about Midgard?"

Hiccup laughed nervously and scratched the nape of his neck, "Yeah, well… what- what can I say Heimdall? You can see down there…"

The deity gave a small patronizing laugh towards Hiccup and turned his gaze towards Berk. His brow furrowed and shook his head, "They are in grave danger."

"What do you mean?"

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"Oblivion has come to their shores," the deep voice of Heimdall stabbed fear into the heart of Hiccup, "An armada as far as mortal eyes can see sails for your home. They will be overwhelmed."

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Coldness enveloped Hiccup at the thought of Berk burning and being put to the sword, his home is being threatened, what should he do?

A dark look shrouded the young man for a second until another Asgardian approached them from behind, "Ah, our young Midgardian is in conflict. You have something to say young man, then you may say so."

His black hammer Mjolnir hanging on his gilded belt, the mighty Thor Odinson, gave Hiccup a roguish smile as he stared down at him. The deity was really tall, he was almost as tall as Heimdall himself, yet he had the qualities of a young warrior in him. He had an aura of a man of action, of justice, and doing what's right, basically, staying true to the image of worship that he is in Midgard.

"My lord- m-my home... I fear it to fall into ruin."

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"Why is that young one?"

"A large army was seen by Heimdall as they march towards my birthplace, my father, my people are in grave danger- but I do not wish to offend Lord Odin of his hospitality since he has allowed me to remain in these grand halls."

The Thunder God gave a small chuckle at his words, "Oh, young one... do you know why Father allowed your stay in here. Because, as you know, none may enter Asgard unless of some significant heroic feat, or you actually took the notice of the Gods, but you stand before me almost as ageless as an Asgardian."

"I really have no idea my lord," sheepishly he shrugged his shoulders, "Is it because I'm the most unique Viking?"

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A booming laugh came from Thor as he slapped the young man on his back, "Truly, you are blessed with a silver tongue, my brother would have loved you... but no, your father was of royalty, you are of royal lineage. It was because of my father's nature that he has allowed you here."

"I still have no idea."

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"As you know, my father is your patron God for Kings and Royalty, but very few royalty or in that matter of royal lineage actually pray to him. So in effect, no prayers are heard, but when you fought the Spawn of Nidhogg-"

"The Red Death?"

"Hardly, I can twist its neck with a simple flick of my wrist," they were walking outside the Bifrost chamber as a crow lazily flew towards them, "My father heard your father's prayer of one more chance for you and he relented. Hence, you are here, trained to perfection by the Halls of Asgardian Warriors- now, your heart calls to your homeland that is in danger. Since you are of noble birth, and one of father's ravens are here-" he gestured toward a raven that curiously perched itself on one of the awnings of the Bifrost chamber and looked at him, "- I think he would be pretty inclined to grant you a prayer."

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Realization dawned on him as everything clicked into place. He approached the docile crow and whispered in its ear.

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Berk

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That has got to be the most largest dragon that they have all laid their eyes upon.

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The defenders of Berk scattered as Drago's great bewilderbeast mind-controlled all of Berk's tamed dragons. Turning to their former friends the dragons rallied behind Drago and made the battle one-sided. As soon as the dragons were taken the riders led by Astrid was no more, Spitelout was gravely wounded as he held the docks from the first of the enemy longboats. Warriors from the docks that were with him fell one by one as their Berserker brothers engaged the enemy viciously that Snotlout managed to pull his father to safety. Astrid and the rest fought valiantly as they were gradually thinned to the upper levels. Berkians fell left and right as they were pushed to the pathway up the cliff towards the town. However, without dragons to cover the air and the gigantic dragon barreling down on Berk they had no choice but to surrender the lower lands. With a bleeding wound on his head Stock rushed up to the walled interior of the small town.

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"Gobber!" He bellowed as the sound of battle raged on the background, "Gobber! Where are the catapults?"

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The blacksmith approached, a large wound on his shoulder bled through his armored tunic, "We managed to burn 15 longboats... but you know that's nothing compared to their auxiliary forces, they still have enough men to invade our island two times. Your brother is at the Great Hall we managed to pullout all the arrow heads, good thing he has your blood, took more than 10 arrows to take him down. However, even if he did make it, I'm not sure about us. The few Berserkers that pushed forward at the docks are all in Valhalla now, but their charge managed to distract the enemy and we got your brother."

Stoick nodded his head and sighed, exhausted beyond all means, "What about our men? Supplies? Can we hold?"

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"There's no problem with the supplies, we have enough for 6 months, ammunitions, arrow heads, we got everything- considering we live long enough to use them all, that is," Gobber shook his head and sighed, he scanned the horizon and saw the bewilderbeast still rampaging on the lowlands that were taken by Drago's forces, "We severely lack manpower... the defenses we put up relied heavily on the dragons- now we're Vikings old friend, and we can be more stubborn than a yak's feces stuck into its arse hair, but that-" he pointed at the bewilderbeast now barreling towards the highlands, "-that is nigh impossible to describe."

"We fight to the last man-"

His words were cut short as a Monstrous Nightmare landed in front of them and ignited, but before they can take action a young Viking crashed at the wayward dragon making it lose its balance. As it tumbled sideways a shield smashed into its head snuffing out its fire and its consciousness, Snotlout wiped a tear on his eye as he retrieved his shield, "Stupid dragon- he still doesn't listen to me."

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The sound of battle raged around them as Stoick and Gobber fought back to back as dragons and Drago's forces surrounded the fortified town. Memories of 5 years ago surfaced into their minds as the thick of battle came upon them. Screeches of dying dragons, screams of eviscerated Vikings and the howl of anguish from a human killing their own beloved pet or friend pierce through the battlefield noise. Axes and swords clashed as an uncontrolled fire razed the few remaining buildings around the town.

It was Hel.

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Astrid strode the battlefield looking for her friends, a while ago she saw Snotlout take down Hookfang, the dragon was still breathing and so she hoped that he was alright. Fishlegs was crying shamelessly in front of an obviously knocked out Meatlug, while the twins, covered in soot and their hair smoking looked on at their dragon currently embedded into the side of their house also knocked out.

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Her dragon was the only one missing, as she turned into a bend she saw a line of Vikings wounded, some dead, some incapacitated as a sky blue Nadder stood in the center of town. It was like they were looking for each other, and suddenly the shield maiden felt cold. Stormfly's eyes were slits, there were no signs of recognition, it was like a different animal altogether. She had completely forgotten about her rider, but the problem now, her rider did not forget about her.

The Nadder suddenly bristled her spines and charged towards Astrid, while she herself bellowed a warcry and charged her dragon. She threw her axe as the Nadder simply swiped it away with her armored snout, but before both of them could collide with each other, Astrid sidestepped to the right and smashed her wooden round shield with a crude rendition of her dragon on right side of its skull. Stormfly reeled back but did not fell down, much to her rider's chagrin. Instead she swiped her tail left and right and managed to stab Astrid to the right hip eliciting a scream of pain from the Shield Maiden.

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Pain. It was so excruciating she could not believe her dragon was capable of that. The poisoned spike drove deep into her hip and she immediately felt light-headed from the shock and the effects of the poison from Stormfly. Odin damns it all to Hel, why is this happening now. She felt heavy footfalls approach her as the Deadly Nadder looked down at her sideways, its eyes still unblinking into slits, aggression still reflected into its pupils.

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From afar, laughter can be heard as Drago Bludvist, the insane, self-styled Dragon God rode atop of the head of his Bewilderbeast and shouted profanity and rebuked the people of Berk.

"You fools! Insolent whelps!" he raised his ornate spear and shouted at the top of his lungs, "I AM DRAGO! I ALONE CONTROL THE DRAGONS! I AM A GOD AMONGST YOU! BOW TO ME!"

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The remaining Berkians, huddled, supporting each other or bleeding looked miserably around them. Suddenly, Stoick their chief pushed himself to the front and pointed his warhammer at him, "You bloody murderer! Your warmongering costed too many lives and broken families. You are insane to even consider yourself a leader, let alone a God!

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Drago sneered and showed sharp fangs for teeth, "Truly, your tenacity astounds me Stoick the Vast, 10 years ago at the Council of Chiefs I thought you were slain- yet here you stand before me. Challenging me, leading these rabble against a God-"

"YOU ARE MAD!" the Chief of the Hooligan's voice thundered through his men, as their morale visibly reignited at the exchange and the fearlessness their leader has shown. "YOU ARE NOT MY GOD! -AND ME AND MY PEOPLE WILL NEVER BOW TO YOU!"

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Taking heart from his words the remaining warriors formed a shield wall around him as the dragons and their forces surrounded them.

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Their enemy gave a dark laugh and sighed, "Very well, burn and pass into the annals of my history as one of my conquest."

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Dragons and enemy Vikings moved as one towards their quarry while Stormfly clicked her jaws together and looked at Astrid through her sides, obviously calculating how to easily bite her. Her eyes suddenly stopped and she stood rigid bringing down her armored head towards her incapacitated body.

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"Oh great, Odin's ghost-" she scrunched up her eyes and waited for the dull thud on her chest, "-oh this is it."

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But it never came. She heard a heavy thud and cracked her eyes open, all dragons around her were down, knocked out, they all seemed to be sleeping. Astrid tried to sit up, but the pain on her hip was excruciating, she suddenly felt cold as she looked up into the sky.

Almost every human being still alive and breathing saw a mass of color smash to the ground in a mixture of torrential winds and blinding light. In the middle of the Berkians and of Drago's horde, a mixture of captured clans, viking outcasts, the dregs of society all molded into one. Stoick, still at the ready saw figures running towards them as he shouted to his men-

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"Form ranks! Lock those ENDS!"

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As the shadows from the blinding rainbow bridge spilled forth into Midgard, they were not charging towards them, but to the exact opposite of them. Confusion raced through the ranks as Drago's forces were caught by surprise.

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A whole line of scale armored men, in glittering bronze and gold armor, gilded horned helms and gleaming blades that reflect the sun charged after them. A horn was sounded and all who heard felt their knees grow weak, and their hearts plummet to the ground.

From the ranks of the strange army came dual wielding armored men and their armor had subtle differences in both shape and colors, they shouted as they charged with their brethren capes billowing behind them, _"Hleosla! Einherjars!" _ the stranger's voice seemed oddly familiar to Astrid and everyone at Berk, _"Fyrir Asgaro! Fyrir Ooin Aalfaoir!"_

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Gobber's eyes, although one was swollen shut from a Gronckle's hammer-like tail managed to blurt out, "Beard of Thor! What is that!?"

"Stay back everyone!" Stoick rallied his men as the flood of the shimmering bronze army rushed past them. They could see that they were like them, human, with flesh and blood, but their skin seemed to radiate something. Something that's ethereal to their eyes. They saw as the Golden Army flawlessly and mercilessly cuts down on the enemy, every swing of the blade sliced head, neck and exposed arms, every locked bronze shield wall smashed in helms and broken inferior wooden shield, every dual-wielder put down more than all their combined fingers could do. It was like the work of the Gods.

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As the enemy was pushed and the massacre began, one thing crossed all of their minds. They heard it all, those that were too shocked could not comprehend, others could not believe. It was what the bronze dual wielder shouted that stuck to their minds.

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Fyrir Asgaro. For Asgard.

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**To be continued... ****Author's note:**

Ok, so most scripts that I used were used in real life... prayers, battle commands, fighting styles, almost everything that is in their I tried to mash the fact and fiction together and tried to make a flawless seam that would look beautiful and satisfying.

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Well, action and adventure is here… I hope the romance would come soon. I can't wait. Also, there are some references from other genres here that I believe are appropriate to the situation. (WH40K, LOTR, and HP) most films and books I already read and seen.

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Reviews are greatly appreciated, I always reply to them, as Private Messages or for Guest right down below.

**Guest review 1: _Well, he's still young back then... and if Toothless can knock him out by roaring at him, why not the Gods right? _**

**_Tamer of the Dark: Don't need the Night Furies, I have the Bewilderbeast with me. Just give me reviews, and try to sign in next time ok?_**

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Cheers everyone,

Scarabeye3000


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Any characters mentioned are all under copyright. This work is purely fan-made.**

**Title: From Asgard to Midgard**

**Author: Scarabeye 3000**

**Chapter 3: **_**'The Furious One'**_

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Berk

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Drago Bludvist retreated to the lowlands as soon as he saw the dragons he mind-controlled with his bewilderbeast to fall down and basically sleep themselves off. His men on the other hand, had the unfortunate luck of meeting the glittering army now spilling forth from the rainbow of light that sustained its brightness as more men poured out of its base. It was like-

"Oh, the Gods-" he struck his mount and the great dragon squared off its shoulders and opened its gigantic maw. "YOU WILL ALL DIE!"

Ice blew forth from the great dragon as the Asgardian soldiers raised up their shields and got out of the way, icicles pierced them everywhere from their forearms, their shields even their helm. It was a blood bath, even without the smaller dragons, he knew he can still win this with the bewilderbeast at his side. Rallying both sides at once, he shouted from the top of his lungs and the black bewilderbeast stomped forward.

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Astrid looked on as the army fought both the bewilderbeast and the Viking horde of Drago, the Berkians, still couldn't believe their luck huddled together and stood apprehensively as another line of the golden army lined against them armed with swords longer than a man and blocked their path to the fight. They did not move, nor tried to approach, they just blocked the way of the Berkians and the battle raging behind them. Understanding their moves, Stoick rearranged the line and locked their shields, keeping behind the palisade walls. Relieving some of the villagers, they quickly repaired the palisades, put out the fire and attended to the wounded.

The shield maiden of Berk was finally attended to and was given a quick antidote for her dragon's poisoned spike. She couldn't believe it, they were facing oblivion in a few seconds then suddenly, a miracle happened. They were still contemplating when they suddenly heard a crescendo in the fighting, the bewilderbeast managed to push the Asgardians back and its allies shouted in approval.

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"NOT EVEN THE ARMY OF THE GODS CAN STOP ME!"

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Everybody stopped as they heard something dropped from the heavens, it was a familiar whistling sound and suddenly followed by a bluish flame that struck the bewilderbeast on the left side. As it limped and turned on its left, another blast was given to it on its right eyes as Drago dived for the safety of the beast's leathery cowl on its head. Plasma blast fired over and over again from the heavens as all Berkians turned to see a diving black Night Fury screeching downwards from the heavens.

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"NIGHT FURY!" Gobber shouted in elation.

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Stoick's heart lifted at the sight, he had never seen a more majestic sight on his life. It seemed to fall and glide at the same time, firing rapid fire plasma blast at the enemy dragons. Asgardians, taking heart at this display continued the fighting even with the devastation surrounding them. Forming a shield wall they charged their enemies bringing their blades at the ready, as they smashed into the enemy Viking's lines, dual swordsmen leaped above them and slew those behind their enemy lines. Fighting both the front and behind the lines, again and again they reformed the lines, but the Asgardians, with millennium of warfare in them swept away those lines. The enemy horde steadily dropped as they all fell quickly to the golden army. Screams were heard over the din as line after line of enemies was overwhelmed.

The Asgardians moved with controlled fury beneath their armor, as one warrior stunned the enemy, a dual blader sliced a wayward limb throwing it off balance and leaving the shielders to finish off the enemy. It was like a dance, three warriors with shields would like and advance as a battering ram, when they collided and stunned their enemies another two or three dual bladers would leap over them and spin in different directions, poking, slicing and stabbing all weakly armored joints and limbs. It is a complicated dance unperceived and unnoticed by any untrained eye, as one sword blocks, two more slice or maim, their enemy both disoriented and uncoordinated like them fell in heaps as blood gushed forth through the roads around Berk.

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The Night Fury, having finished its dive and effectively crippling the bewilderbeast, hovered and landed with a thud near an armored dual wielder and it quickly got on, everyone looked from the safety of their palisades that the rider was quite tall, but reedy, they launched up into the sky and was followed by an ice blast from Drago's crippled dragon. Shouting profanities after him and his dragon, the insane warlord struck his beast with the blunt end of his spear, "Go after him! Fly! Fly after him you useless muck! AGH!"

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Suddenly he saw that the rider was bearing down on him.

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Everybody held their breaths as the rider leaps from his Night Fury and collided with Drago burying his short sword at the warlord's chest. His life flashed before his eyes even as he felt the cold blade penetrating him, looking down at his assailant he saw dark green eyes looking back at him from underneath the helm.

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_"Farou til Hel."_

_._

The rider stabbed him again with his second sword and he coughed out blood, with murder etched into his eyes he tried to defy the Gods one last time. "I AM DRAGO! I ALONE CONTR-" his blood rushed out of his lips drowning him as his lungs collapsed from the two sword wounds from his assailant. It was over, the Viking Horde under the Warlord Drago threw down their weapons as their leader was flung from atop of his black bewilderbeast. Pitifully, it whined and moaned as the body of Drago Bludvist was thrown from his snout and into the ground. Whistling a shrill note, the Night Fury quickly swooped down and carried his rider besides the body of the slain warlord.

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"Your Warlord is dead!" he shouted to no one in particular as the Night Fury opened his wings in a threatening manner to the still assembled horde. The enemy dragon whined pitifully as its master lay slain in front of him, it was heart-wrenching to watch such a majestic creature wailing and mourning someone so insane and diabolical you can only pity it. Pity, that such a majestic creature is reduced to groveling and sadness over someone so undeserving of its devotion. The dual blader pointed his still dripping sword at their enemies and to the Berkians, "Return to your families, rebuild all the villages you have pillaged and burn, never again rally behind a so-called God of Dragons... for there are no Gods for Dragons!"

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"You have my word that no harm will fall before you, return to your boats and the Golden Army will not pursue you!" one by one the Viking horde dispersed as they walked back to the ships. All too eager to escape the nightmare that started almost a decade ago when Drago began his conquest, throwing down their weapons, their armor, their rations, carrying only their tunics and ample provisions for their journey, they quickly cast out into open waters as the line of perfect Asgardian warriors lined the highlands. As the badly beaten enemy shoved off towards their home shores, never to return lest they incur the wrath of the Gods once more, they all carried the treasure that Drago so easily forgot to distribute among his conquered subjects. Their morale shattered, their fleet wasted by a single Night Fury, their weapons cache lost in the battle, the remaining forces loyal to the insane warlord also scattered to the unknown places beyond the Barbaric Archipelago.

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Stoick, with Gobber looked on as the Asgardian line still did not falter and did not make any indication of moving from their spot, a man using a thin long sword approached him and bowed respectfully. _"Hagl! Stoick yfirmaour Berk, nafn mitt er Fandral un glæsilegur... vera her, Hersir okkar mun farra nu."_

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Turning around him he spotted his good friend the blacksmith with his mouth open, "Did you get that?"

"I'll uh-" Gobber started to turn and saw Gothi right in front of him, "-hmm, I was supposed to get you, but since your here-" he gently pushed the village elder towards the Asgardian warrior and the heavenly soldier bowed in respect to the elder, the old woman's eyes widened in a great circle and haughtily hit the amputated blacksmith in the knee.

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"Ow! What is it now? Ye' old coot- what?" she was frantically signaling and giving him such random sign languages that he managed to scratched his head and sighed heavily, "Well... I think what she meant to say that we should all stay put until they got everything that is theirs and leave us alone in one piece.

"Shall we do anything for them? To appease the Gods at least?"

Gothi still frantically signing all over the place managed to baffle Gobber even more, "Err- uh... she said just stay calm- and uh- Fandral the Dashing? Would- would what? Would make it alright- yes that's what I think so too-"

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The Chief of Berk's cheeks tinted, here they were, all dressed ready to die and to kill, and they were conversing with an Asgardian, a soldier of the Gods and they were sputtering nonsense in front of him. He wished he would never hear of this encounter when he finally goes up into Valhalla, an eternity of wisecracks and butt of jokes, just because he couldn't understand him since he speak old Norse. Meeting the gaze of the impeccably dressed warrior he promptly nodded his head as if agreeing to what he said, sensing everything was ok, the Asgardian named Fandral bowed again and walked smartly to the Dragon rider already conversing with his brethren.

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_"Gleyma aldrei herra_ Drakkonis..." the large man that looked exactly like a Viking gave the young dual wielder a great hug, lifting him off the ground and settling him down nicely again, "... _eg gleyma pier mun ekki."_

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As the other Asgardian warriors picked up their dead the young warrior saluted with his fist on his chest and nodded affirmatively, "I'll miss you too Volstagg."

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As they all gathered to the numerous circles burned into the ground by the rainbow bridge descending down on Midgard, the Berkians reared back as the lines holding them back marched smartly into a circle and stayed within it. With the Asgardians gathered, their dead bearing forth on their shoulders, the burly red armored Asgardian looked up into the sky and shouted, _"Heimdall! allur tellbuin!"_

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Flashes of rainbow colored light rained down from the heavens as the Asgardians, with their glimmering sword, their artificer armor, their battle prowess and their overwhelming aura in the battlefield left Midgard once more. Just the way they left made them all stare up into the sky and saw a mixture of rainbow from the heavens. All of Berk moved as one on the devastation that the war brought to them, they were all fortunate, and lucky to have earned the favor of the Gods, and somehow, even in the midst of adversity, of defeat and annihilation, a greater power managed to protect them. Gobber, with his eye still swollen shut and bleeding shoulder managed to whisper among their still surviving brethren.

"Siggur vinna..."

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It was but a whisper yet those who heard perked up their ears and a slight jump made it into their step, "...siggur vinna..." louder this time, but the creeping feeling of elation was evident, "... siggur vinna... " the surviving men started raising their swords, their voices in a loud crescendo, a phrase reserved for the ultimate test of nerves and warfare. "SIGGUR VINNA!"

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As the feelings of elation died down, they all turned to the young man standinged before them, his armor a glimmering scale armor of greenish origin, hands covered in an armored gauntlet that's fully articulated to give free access of movement from his fighting style, his pants a simple brown leathery fabric and his legs and feet enclosed in a finely crafted boots with armored greaves still giving him plenty of movement. His tunic underneath the armor is a dark green embroidered fabric. His horned helm resembled the horns and ears of his beloved mount, burned and scarred in all the right places, and they all held their breaths as the young warrior took off his helm and smiled sheepishly at them, his dragon Toothless wide-eyed and moaning fitfully, both in nervousness and apprehension. His return couldn't have been more pronounced than this.

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"Hi dad."

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Gobber sobbed unashamed as he looked at his old friend, the whole village saw the Chief dropped his war mace and approached his son. Astrid, with the help of Fishlegs limped towards the front and looked as both father and son met at the crest of a hill where he stood waiting for his father. Stoick, never showed emotions except sadness, disappointment, and frustration to his son, but now, looking at this tall, still reedy, and fine young man. He could not help himself, a tear pushed itself to his eyes as he reached the boy and grabbed his shoulders, "...oh my boy..." both father and son held onto each other and cried unashamed.

"I thought the Gods-"

"We must thank the Gods-"

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As they held onto each other, the Berkians felt their hearts lift, ever since the gloom of death raised its head from their Chief they felt he was more irritable, closed off and unable to empathize with his people. Now, with the living proof that his son was not dead, that he did not go to Valhalla, makes their feelings soar for Stoick. The quasi-Asgardian and his father finally reined in their feelings and the Chief turned to his people and shouted in a loud booming voice in the midst of the cheering of Berk.

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"My SON!" Stoick couldn't contain his happiness, "MY SON HAS COME HOME!"

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Astrid smiled as she saw Hiccup looked god-like in his shimmering armor, but before she can walk away from all the excitement, she saw Hiccup look directly in front of her with eyes that burned with such intensity of- of- what word would be appropriate? NEED? A pretty accurate word, that left her weak-kneed and trembling, aside from Stormfly's poisoned barbs of course. Both in her heart and somewhere else she might not need to mention now since Fishlegs is currently beside her.

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Her nervousness didn't even falter as his hard unbreakable gaze did a do-over of her and she saw him mouth one word.

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_"Minn..."_

_._

_Oh she didn't like that... that was not good. _

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**To be continued.**

**Author's note:**

This is not a crossover, I just got some ideas roiling in my head. I'm mostly an Evangelion and Anime fan, but I decided to breach this fandom since I found it entertaining. Its got the potential to turn bloody and insane just because its dragons and Viking mashed into the same page. Plus, maybe a little Hiccstid next chapter

Replies:

**Guest**: Well, thanks for the review. I supposed its well done since I usually turn chapter one a week before... and the idea is still in my head, don't think I'm going to hit a wall for a long time with this.

**Mark** (Guest): Early Icelandic culture and some rural parts of that country today still don't have a last name. Its either you use Stoickson for males, or Stoickdottir, for female offsprings. Its a patronymic culture that they have so basically, they trace who your father or parents was and there you have it. Toothless is with him, he just hadn't come out yet.

All signed reviews will be replied in PM.

Cheers everyone,

Scarabeye3000


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Any characters mentioned are all under copyright. This work is purely fan-made.**

**Title: From Asgard to Midgard**

**Author: Scarabeye 3000**

**Chapter 4: **_**'Silver tongued son of a HALF TROLL!'**_

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Berk 

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The setting sun blazed a dazzling array of colors as the somber mood of the small fledgling town settled down from the charged mood of the morning. War is Hel, before during and after, and clean-up was a mess. The dragons after a while woke up to find the Vikings welcoming them once more into their midst, they were all mind-controlled anyway so it was not like they wanted to burn the town they were living in. Repairs certainly became much faster as they have the dragons to help them once again, dead bodies, both allied and foe were carefully collected and set before the surviving long boats. Death was a big business for every Viking as everyone strives to die honorably in battle to hasten their place in Valhalla. So, loading the funeral ships with ample provisions they all stood at the edge of the docks as the preparation were finished for the massive funeral pyres.

Stoick, Chief of Berk, stood on the fore of the assembled people as the longboats were set adrift. It was unusually calm this time and the boats sailed without guidance and without direction.

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Gothi, unnoticed due to her height threw something in the air while shaking a box with some runes in it, she was chanting some ancient prayer as the Chief raised his right hand and numerous flaming arrows were raised. As they were released, all arrows finds it mark and lit the tinder and the firewood gathered for the pyre. Numerous small fires, for the enemy, and for the poor folks that died but cannot fit in the longboat was set into smaller boats and cast adrift with them.

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"May you all find the way to Valhalla," Stoick said in a somber voice as he looked up into the sky, "... to the join the halls of your Fathers, and your father's father before them... " the fleet of funeral ships continued towards the strong currents that would take them out into the open sea as they all turned back towards the Great Hall, "... and in their mighty company and kinship, you all will not be ashamed."

As the people walked up to the Great Hall to share the mead, the Riders of Berk all huddled together their de-facto leader, Astrid, still supported by a cane hobbled up to the great steps. The wound on her hip was still throbbing and she could only grit her teeth in pain as they mounted the steps, she looked up and breathed deep. Before she could mount it however, a hand grabbed her right hand and swung her arm over its shoulders. Now, not many people can make her embarrassed, there was the Chief, her parents, then Gothi and also Gobber, but she turned to the one who grabbed her and saw bright green eyes, a freckled nose and a small smile on his lips.

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Thor's hammer, it was Hiccup who grabbed her.

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Not asked to grab her, just grabbed her.

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"What are you doing?" she was trying to sound hard and unflinching, but deep inside her emotions are doing the conga, "I don't need anyone's help."

"Sure you do milady," he half-carried her up to the steps as he draped her arm to his shoulders and his left hand grabbed her hips unashamed of their closeness. Well, it was actually Astrid that was blushing and- wooh- and she just realized he had become stronger through the years, the cold armor rubbed against her as she shivered a bit at their closeness. Even at their younger teens they were never this close, well, maybe that kiss was evident, but that was just a spur of the moment she would rather forget now that he's right beside her.

"I guess I don't need to ask where you've been huh?"

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"Well, it is kinda obvious where I've been," they finally reached the top stairs and both reluctantly lets go, "I'll talk to you again sometime milady," he bows with a little flourish and steps away from her. Astrid blushed at his actions and it was unnatural, sure, both of them were quite awkward and the wall that's usually around both of them is now gone. Plus, the battle with the Red Death actually gave her an assurance of what she felt for him. It was attraction, and now that he's back from Asgard no less, then it suddenly dawned on her that she probably should not be left alone with him. Nor Ruffnut, nor any other girl at Berk right now.

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_"Blessed Frigga, what is wrong with me."_

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His smile made her shiver as he made his way towards the table near his father, pats on the back were given as Gobber ruffled his already unruly hair. A fire roared in the middle of the Hall as a few Vikings have already went to their tables and to their kinsmen. As the Vikings sat on their respective places, the mead was passed around for the ceremonial first drink after the battle. The funeral preparations took most of the day and the funeral boats burned good up to the horizons ensuring the souls of the dead passed on into Valhalla. It was quiet now, none would dare attack Berk on its days of grieving since no village would like to incur the wrath of the Gods. And finally, after the last of the Vikings took their place on the Great Hall, Stoick the Vast cleared his throat and raised a tankard of ale, "Tonight, we celebrate our kinsmen that have passed onto Valhalla, may they drink honeyed mead by the tankard- may their fathers be proud of their prowess in battle... and may they save us a seat as we follow them in our own time."

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_"Hagl! Ao Sigur Dauour!"_

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"HAIL!" The Vikings raised their mugs above their heads and drank sloppily.

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Stoick nodded his head and music sounded from the far corner, cauldrons, pots and pans were opened revealing stews cooked prior to the celebration, as all of Berk began its celebrations. Astrid slipped out a side door and headed for her house, she was about to escape when Hiccup stepped from the shadows and got in front of her.

"Going somewhere milady?"

Instinctively raising her two bladed axe above her head she flinched as her hip wound moved excitedly, in almost a blink of an eye, Hiccup had grab a hold of both her arms and was steadily holding her up. She looked up at him, his green eyes shining in the twilight sky of Berk and she blushed. Again. Huffing a puff of air she pushed herself from him and pointed her battleaxe at him menacingly.

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"What are you doing?"

"Doing what?"

"This!" she jerked her hands over him.

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Laughing a bit he said, "You just gestured to all of me."

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"Your impossible!" Frustrated she shook her head and smiled, "What do you want Hiccup?"

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"You."

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Woah! She did not just hear that. Is he for real? I mean sure they kissed, and they showed genuine- CONCERN, with each other so there's no explanation why he should say that! Her mind still reeling from his answer, she could only clear her throat trying to reestablish her footing on the hard ground. Ok, this conversation was going south and her mind is loosing it, and its like every time he speaks something- something tugs at her heart and she's just on so... so enamored at him. Like, he's putting her under a spell with his words, he doesn't stutter, his eyes convey a mysterious message and by the Gods its as if- wait a second. She looked at him closely and his eyes were still holding hers, confidently eyeing her and giving a small smile, opening his mouth to speak she looked at his body language and stopped herself from sidling next to him.

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What in blessed Frigga- it's like he's stroking her with a silver tongue!

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"Hiccup," she tried to reign in her feelings and she took deep breaths to calm herself, "I have a question-"

"Anything milady, for you I'll even give my eternal servitude-"

She almost swooned at his words, but she shook her head and focused, "What is all this? I mean, are you seriously hitting me!?" anger, annoyance, yes that's good, she built up her emotions and opened her eyes, fury rising in her gaze, "Are you seriously trying to hit on me!?"

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Finally, she saw him falter a bit and he backed away slowly, bowing a bit as he removed himself from her path, "Not at all my lady, I only wish to convey my feelings to you- I- when- when I was in the home of the Gods- my thoughts were always with you- I mean, here at Berk... and I missed you too. You were the first one to believe in me- maybe we can talk when you are well-rested. Your were the reason why- well, one of the reasons I suppose- why I came back."

"Watch yourself Haddock." the pain on her hip as she walked she hardly banished on the back of her mind as the young man backed away from her, "I'm not some wench you can swing to your palm. Your acting weird- well, weirder last time I checked," yep, he was weirder, and still a shadow of the boy she once knew surfaced, but he was holding her gaze with a controlled intensity that she could not fathom nor see where he's going at.

"I'm sorry Lady Astrid, if I- I have offended you with my... presence," he bowed a little again and showed his two palms, a general term of non-aggression, "Please, I will never- never mistook you as such, you are a maiden Valkyrie, worthy to ride in the halls of the Gods- and uh, uh well- I can attest to that since I've already seen them."

Now he tells her she's as beautiful and frightening as a Valkyrie? By the Gods, she could not tell if he was lying or not, being in their midst and all. But there was just too many questions that she had no answer yet, and he had not the inkling to answer. He just stood there, his weight put on his right leg as if his left is injured and Astrid gripped her battleaxe tighter. Her blush almost non-existent with the air of indignant and righteous fury that she has to show.

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Oh, for the sake of Valhalla, she almost swooned again anyway! The hesitancy, the backing away, the sheepishness, it was a master at work, but she didn't have the skill to distinguish all of that and she only hardened herself. For now, at least she can give a heavy huff of air and stomped forwards even with a bad hip on her. The young man made a move to assist her, but she hissed menacingly and he immediately pulled away giving her ample space. It wasn't that she didn't like the attention, rather she was not just used to it and she would just fight five Vikings at the same time than be alone with him, while he's acting weird and all that stuff. Passing by him, he remained silent and looked at her with a haughty gaze on his eyes, reaching the threshold of her house she mounted the steps and looked back at the Great Hall. Merry-making can be heard over the din as she then turned to look at where she left him.

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There was nobody there.

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Inside the Great Hall, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the 3rd opened his eyes and took a swig of mead, that did not go well with Astrid. He was pretty sure that it would work out fine, but then again he was not his teacher, looking down at the ornate silver ring that adorns his right finger. It was a snake with two heads, with green emerald eyes, one biting a star, the other head biting its twin on the back. Stoick, noticing his son's discomfort craned his to him. "Son, are you alright? Are you tired?"

"No dad, I'm- I'm good, its just- just feels good to be back."

His father smiled as Gobber walked over to them, "Well, lad... I thought your were waiting for us at Valhalla-" his cheeks were red, definitely inebriated and very tactless Gobber, "- of course, you already were at Valhalla- but- but I'm just so happy your alive boy." He ruffled the young man's head, and sobbed a bit, "We thought we lost you for sure!"

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"I'm glad I'm alive too Gobber-" he turned to Stoick and smiled at him, "- and thanks dad, for calling out to Lord Odin making him give me a second chance."

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Stoicks eyes grew wide and his brow vanished into his braided hair, his cheeks tinted a bit and his ears heated up. How in the Gods did he- Oh yeah. "I was never afraid of fighting dragons son, you know that, because you know me. I feel no fear, towards the battle, because I know that if I do good in battle, then my father would gladly welcome me at his halls- however, I can admit that I felt fear only five times in my life-" he held up his one hand and began to count one by one.

"The first one, was when I asked your mother to marry me-"

Hiccup frowned, "You were afraid of a question?"

"Oh! Your heart is young, and I think no lass have wiggled its way into your heart yet," Gobber shrugged his shoulders, "You should have seen your dad's face- it was like he drank a bag of fermented yak's milk gone bad."

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"Alright, that's very funny, anyway, the second time was when your mother gave birth to you."

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"I can understand that, Lady Frigga wanted me to go with her whenever a new Asgardian is born so that I may- experience child birth and know what to do when it is finally my wife's turn to do so," Both Stoick and Gobber shook their heads as if in pain of his misfortune, "- it was quite the scare, when you see the head of the baby come out-"

"Oh enough! Ok! Ok! I don't want to hear that!" The Chief cuts him off and held out his third finger, somehow he enjoys tormenting his father with this female anatomy stuff, "The third was when you were born, I umm- umm- accidentally dropped you from my grasp."

Hiccup looked at his father, horrified at what he heard, "You what!?"

"Your mother was so angry at him," Gobber shivered as he remembered the memory, "All because he doesn't know HOW TO HOLD A BABY!"

"Wait a second," the young man looked at his father with wide eyes, "Is this true? You dropped me when I was a kid?"

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Stoick blushed and said gruffly, "Well, child-rearing was not my special skill... it was killing dragons of course-"

"- but he was so excited of your birth that he carried you in his arms and almost squeezed you to death," the blacksmith gave a small laugh and said, "then you cried and he panicked so much that you seem to pop out of his arms, oh your mother furious with him!"

"She broke my arm with my war hammer," he rubbed a small scar on his forearm just below the arm joints, "I've never been so scared of a woman in my life."

.

"- and then you made up right?"

"No," his father's voice noticeably grew smaller as the party noise go louder, "It was the night of the dragon raid that I lost her, I was fighting with Spitelout on the center of the village, when someone from the vanguard and pulled me aside- I think it was Eorn? or was it Eoden?"

"It was Eorn, his brother Eoden died that night," Gobber said and belched loudly, "Wooh! Where did that came from- got to have one more of course," and he shoved off to get another barrel of mead.

The Chief continued his tale and Hiccup listened intently, "I was so afraid when I saw the house shingles and roof burning, I ran all the way, I was so angry son. Angry at the dragons for attacking, angry at your mother for hitting me since I feel so weak that night, angry at the Gods- and fear, overwhelming fear of losing your mother and you-"

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He wiped a tear from his cheek that escaped from his eyes and cleared his throat as Gobber sat next to them again, clutching a smaller barrel of mead, "It helps with the flow of the story if we wash it with some mead first."

"Aye..."

"So, uh... when was the last time your were afraid-

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"When you came crashing down, fighting the monstrosity you saved us from- I was afraid to lose what my beloved wife left for me. I was afraid to lose my son, even when you dissapointed me-" Hiccup noticeably frowned and looked down to the ground, "-or when you do something to endanger the village, I always knew that I'll see you again- but that time, when I saw you fall from that height, and the firestorm waiting for both of you down below. I couldn't help the cold dread that washed over me."

"It's okay dad-"

Stoick sighed sadly and rubbed his son's shoulder, "Forgive me son- I knew I should have paid attention to more of this.."

"You just gestured to all of me," he said testily with a small grin on his face, answered with a bearded smile from his father.

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Asgard

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Warriors filed outside from their latest skirmish in Midgard, the victorious nursing their scars, the dead carried by their still living brethren and the Warrior's Three speaking animatedly. They were all happy, the young Haddock was finally back to where he belongs and as the last of the warriors filed out of the Bifrost chambers. Heimdall, Guardian of the Rainbow Bridge Bifrost looked at his right side and saw a man clad in golden and green artificer armor seemingly to appear out of nowhere. The man took off his helm and mask revealing a black haired, pale God that was so handsome, his intellectual appearance didn't seemed to faze too much of the sophistication he carried himself with. With matching green tunic that reached his ankles, his armored and body adorned with jewels finely crafted and designed with snake figures. Walking forward out to the chambers, the almost giant man spoke in a deep voice, "You were hidden from my sight for an undetermined amount of time. Where did you go?"

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"Really? The great God Heimdall's sight is faltering? Then I think you need a rest," his voice was alluring, sure, soothing and mesmerizing, "I'm pretty sure that's fatigue kicking in, you should take a vacation, leave your post, travel to one of the nine realms. I'm sure father would understand."

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"Do you think your silver tongue would work on me Loki Odinson!?" the Guardian God bristled as he shook off the obvious discomfort of his words.

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"Of course not," there it was again, the calm soothing voice, it demanded things, declared sweet nothings and yet- "I was merely opening the windows of opportunity for you."

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With a swish of his hair Loki stepped out of the chamber, but before he was out of earshot, he whispered in the air as Heimdall turned towards him, "Guardian, where is Hiccup?"

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Not used to lie, and unable to deny a just answer from him, he spoke out with his deep voice, grasping his sword and resisting to strike the cunning monster, "He has returned to his home at Midgard."

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Loki turned to the Asgardian city away from the Bifrost chamber, his black eyes shining and laughed evily revealing a sliver of silver embedded on his tongue, _"Mjog gott."_

.

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**To be continued... ****Author's note**

I am elated to see such numbers of readers in this story, I mean, its not one of my best ideas that I had but it seems to turn out well. Also, I would like to thank Arnar since he's helping me with the translations. I think he means to be gentle with me, but I felt that I botched some translations from the Old Norse to Icelandic.

Also, I'm using Old Norse to depict the way the Gods speak, as someone pointed out to me of what's the point of using translated words. Well, I just want to ok? Deal with it.

AND! Since, there are relative peace for now, I can focus on the gang and their movements from now on.

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Reviews are greatly appreciated, I always reply to them, as Private Messages or for Guest right down below.

**flame (Guest): _Well, I'm not very good at Norse. I have an acquaintance, which happens to be from Iceland named Arnar (of the Ice) and he actually pointed out that some phrases and sentences that I made can be quite confusing, but all in all since its old Norse it doesn't look too painful to read. (Thank god of course)_**

I have to admit I'm not the best one when it comes to writing Norse, I have some errors, but he forgave me. Thank God again!

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Cheers everyone,

Scarabeye3000


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Any characters mentioned are all under copyright. This work is purely fan-made.**

**Title: From Asgard to Midgard**

**Author: Scarabeye 3000**

**Chapter 5: **_**'Everyday Life'**_

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Berk

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The sun's few rays peeked at the horizon as the village slowly woke itself up from its drunken stupor, the celebration, no thanks to Gobber of course, opened more barrels of mead than what was intended by the Chief. So, instead of just stopping, the songs continued until the first ray of the sun peeked at the windows of the Hall and most Viking men feeling too inebriated to even walk away from the Great Hall. Others, simply plop down where they would loudly declare that they require a little respite from the drinking, but suddenly slide down and snore loudly. Stoick and Gobber, couldn't believe their eyes, Hiccup drank like a fish last night, they were constantly filling his tankard, and he would drink straight and finish it in one go.

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After the 2nd barrel, the Chief was out of the count, even the blacksmith's eyes were spinning, so to spare his father the pain of a lousy wake-up and the obvious disadvantages of a bad hangover, the lost son half-carried, half-dragged his father to their house. Toothless perked his head up and made his way up to the 2nd floor as Hiccup dragged his father to his bed and covered him with his furs, he puts his horned helmet on his bed post and walked out of his chambers. He took some firewood on a nearby pile, taking care to put all he chose on the middle of the hearth and whistled shrilly, a bluish light came from the second floor as the firewood exploded in flames and a roasting fire began to heat the house. Hiccup stretched and made his way towards the second floor of the house where Toothless was waiting for him, he sat slowly down on his old bed and thought- boy, its real small.

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Slapping himself internally, why would he insult himself anyway?

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Laughing a bit at the small humor on his expense he looked around the room and sighed. 5 years and no changes happened to his chambers, except that everything seemed smaller to him. His drawings were still there, his horned helmet that Stoick gave him was still there, even the family ax that his father made him take up is still there, given that its a bit dented, had some use in it from the old arena. He stood up again and walked around, his bed was small, his window was small, even his notebook was small, why is everything small in his eyes? Did the grandeur of Asgard made him high and mighty that he could not stoop to so low accommodations? But this is his home, and a small tug on his heart and his eyelids made him lie down to his old furs and closed his eyes.

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Opening his eyes mere moments when he lied down, he saw that the sun was already in the sky so high and he finally realized that, oh, so he did fell asleep. Usually he would take a bath from the numerous bathhouses in Asgard, but in here they have to trek a few kilometers outside the village to do something as washing themselves. Seriously, could there be no other-

Hiccup frowned and sighed, of course there was another way. Would he even go back to Berk if he didn't learn or made an achievement of himself. Sighing in disbelief he was surprised that he managed to fell asleep on his armor, not that it surprised him, the minor skirmishes in Asgard were almost a daily occurrence, but he's in Midgard now and his heart is at peace. So, he began to remove his armor as a knock came to his door.

"Who is it?"

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A muffled voice came through the door, "It's me son, I'd like to talk to you- are you decent?"

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"If your asking if there are any naked Valkyries beside me, then sorry to disappoint you," his sarcasm evident as Stoick opened the door, "I'm as decent as a Viking ready for the high seas."

"Oh, I see your sense of humor is dry as always," his father looked at him as he removed his armor, he saw that there was a coif on the nape of the neck covered by a row of scales that he expertly dismantled. As the neck scale armor came off he began removing the chain link that ran from the top of his neck down to his belt, it was hidden by a fold of scale armor so expertly made that it seemed impossible to make. Or if it is made, it would be very time consuming, "So, uh- you wanted to talk to me?"

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"Yes, son," he sat down and cleared his throat, "I want to hear what are your plans since your back?

"I was thinking of staying, there seems to be a lot that can be done here, plus a lot of new faces that I haven't seen before."

Stoick's heart lifted at the word 'stay', he felt relieved and he was happy. "Well, with the mysterious disturbance that was begun by Drago, many families came seeking for refuge south of our border, every other island on the north is untouched, the Berserkers, the Outcasts, well, most of the evils of our society that was banished has tried to ally with us. Dagur was slain a few months before the battle of Berk, Alvin the Treacherous is the only rival we have that have not shown their face."

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"Well, maybe we should address first the things that this village need in order for it to function."

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The Chief was stunned, "What do you mean son?"

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Doing his twitching hands move Hiccup managed to hypnotize his father more, "For starters, we could make a more permanent battlements or walls for our defense, a good drainage would be good since the waste water from the houses just goes to the street, it doesn't really smell good- also the hygiene of the people is most striking to me, well, I can't argue with that since we are a sea-faring people so its understandable, but we have dragons now why not use them since they also live here... Dad, there are so many ways that we can do that, heated baths for the people, steam baths, irrigation and just a few more ideas that I have in my head. When I was at Asgard, they taught me everything... everything a civilization needs to endure."

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Stoick was stunned, was this really his son? He was speaking like a chief, he was thinking like a chief- nay, he's acting exactly like a chief.

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"We must assemble the townsfolk then."

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Drinking some water from an earthen jar Hiccup gargled the water in his mouth and promptly drank it, "Ewww, why did I do that- what for Dad?"

"No time! Get down and eat your breakfast then come to the Great Hall," The Chief merely hummed and walked out the door, he was muttering to himself and Hiccup can only hear, 'Thor Almighty!', 'He's all grown up so fast!', 'excellent', and 'heir'. Shaking his head he stopped as he heard muffled excited voices say, 'Marriage!', 'Haddock line.'

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_"Oh man, that was not good."_

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With his head still disoriented and pretty much, still hungover, he pulled a tunic over his head, rushed down to the 1st floor, took some food from the bubbling cauldron and tried to force down some food into him. Putting away the dishes, he made sure that his metal leg was secured and whistled shrilly as Toothless came bounding down from the 2nd floor down right next to him all wriggling and shaking playfully at him. He approached and began scratching his dragon on its hard neck then making his way down to the underside near his belly, the dragon's eyes widened as it flopped down to the ground in obvious bliss, kicking involuntarily at the air as the young man knocked his partner out, "Well, I guess we can put off flying into the morning- OOF!"

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With the words 'Morning Flight' in mind, Toothless shook off the cobwebs of euphoria and grabbed his rider bounding through the door and depositing Hiccup to the front porch. The door hung on its hinges as the young Viking righted himself up as the Night Fury bristled and jostled him excitedly at the prospect of a flight. "Ok, ok! Ok! Calm down you useless reptile! You don't even have your-"

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Toothless came running and jumping back into the house, pots and pans clanging, weapon racks knocked aside, and shields rolling off the shelves as he easily retrieved, "-your saddle. Well, can't argue with what you want, the mead is still stuck in my head for some reason. Flying away might help in clearing my head... or it'll give me a nastier headache." He secured his riding restraints and his lifeline on his dragon's saddle and quickly hopped on.

A few villagers turned at the large wing beats of such a small dragon and saw the Night Fury carrying Hiccup rise into the sky so fast, not even a Nadder in heat could catch them.

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Half an hour later at the terrace leading to the Great Hall the Vikings heard a whistling sound as the black Night Fury came hurtling down from the sky. Gobber grinned as the dragon landed softly with a wing beat and lets its rider step down, his prosthetic leg coming down first then his uninjured one, as soon as he got down to stable ground, Hiccup emptied his stomach with a puke in front of a few villagers.

"Oh man... I guess hard flying doesn't always beat hangovers-" he head still spinning, he managed to blurt out in the midst of the chuckling Vikings calling out to him in jest. "CAN'T TAKE HIS DRAUGHT!"

With laughter trailing behind him, he entered the Great Hall as Toothless followed him faithfully inside, "Your father's been waiting for you, good thing most of the villagers are not here yet."

Stoick sat at the middle chair and both chairs on his left and his right were empty, his captain Spitelout, still wounded and recovering had an empty seat next to Gobber on the Chief's left as Hiccup made his way to the right chair.

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"The Heir of Berk has entered the Halls!"

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He blushed as his arrival was announced and all eyes turned to him, he sat down quickly and he gave a firm nod and all Vikings sat down to their seats. The Chief cleared his throat and looked around him, "What we have here now, are the warriors, and the representatives of the families that are still in the village- nay in our town that have come to be heard and take part in this meeting."

Looking around the Hall, he saw some were females, their husbands perishing in the battle with Drago. Some new faces he have never seen before, Snotlout looked smug as he took his father's chair, the father of the twins Lugnut sat down across Gobber, two scars running down on his face, Fishleg's father, even Astrid's father Bjornn was there. They all sat looking down, their friends still being grieved at the moment, but life goes on at the Barbaric Archipelago, and with this town meeting still going even after all that happened, symbolizes a restoration of normality, and of routine that all Vikings are so fond of.

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"Our food stores are sufficient, up to the middle of winter of course," Fishleg's father, a heavyset man named Fjall, stood up and began looking down at a tree bark with writing in it, "With the casualties we have incurred, battle wise we are at 50%, but the dragons we have are certainly helpful, so we're more likely at 70-82%. They're a force deterrent right now, we also have a surplus of metal, irons, and timber- a couple of gold, silver-"

"Did I hear gold?"

"Yes Chief," the large man nodded, "The armada they assembled left some ships, we managed to salvage everything that we can use in them, and we also found their treasure ships. So, we have no problem with trading outside goods."

"Dad?"

All eyes turned to him, as he gulped loudly, he maybe trained in Asgard, but his shyness, well, still needs some work- "I think we can get more if we turn those gold into jewelry unique to us, or gild them into our fine crafted weapons increasing the value of our goods that Trader Johann purchases for us. _Brokkr_ taught me- well you know, more actually he tolerated me as he worked- by umm- so yeah, I was going to say that well, I could make that if its ok."

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Stoick smiled a little as he raised his hand and said, "All in favor of my son's words?"

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All hands came up, including Snotlout, albeit reluctantly and it was inscribed by Fjall into his bark notebook and the meeting continued. "Hiccup Haddock III is commissioned to produce weapons gilded with gold and silver. Price: to be determined."

"Our sheeps are all safe, enough for five sheeps per family, one yak per family, we have a surplus of farmlands since we have a deficit in farmers now. We're also lacking fishermen, our longboats are all destroyed so we had to take the surplus we found from Drago's, all other live stocks are sufficient to get us to the middle of winter. Including furs and clothing... even drinking water we take from the mountains."

A small voice again pierced through the discussion, "What about security?"

Again, Hiccup's soft shy voice penetrated through the closed door meeting, his Father gave him a wide grin and rested his cheek on his knuckle, "What do you mean son?"

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"W- well, since we have a surplus in livestock..." he sighed again, oh he was so embarrassed speaking in front of everyone, and his dad seemed very smug about his ideas, "I think we should have a few riders go out into the outlying islands and scout out, in case, someone attacks us since we are rebuilding the whole village- I mean town- Berk, I mean."

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"Well said! We'll draw lots on who will do that later-" Stoick still did not remove his gaze at his son, "Anything else Son?"

_._

Hiccup stood up and sighed, this is going to take all day. "I may have a few more ideas."

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Taking up most of the morning time, the Berkians were given a break at midday in time for lunch and some relaxation after the meeting. Stoick, Gobber and Fjall remained behind to eat and contemplate the meeting, Hiccup slipped outside and headed for their house, before he could get there however, he felt someone approach him from behind and he turned swiftly catching the assailant's punch before it can even hurt him.

Correction, before Astrid could hurt him.

"Ah!-" she was caught in his arms as he restrained her expertly, "-how did you know I was here?"

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The young rider grinned and looked deeply in her eyes, "I make it a point, that I always know where you are."

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Relieved and elated that he saw her blush, she wriggled free from his embrace and pointed a finger at him, glowering all the way. "Are you still messing with me Haddock?"

"No!" He sighed deeply, turned away from her and closed his eyes, "I just- I just- you know, I've been thinking about you ever since I was taken to Asgard. After every battle we face up there- I would find solace with Heimdall and ask him to watch you for me-"

"Hold it! Wait a second!" her hand came up to her face, a more intense blush threatening to blow her head off, "You asked a GOD!? DIRECTLY!? To watch over ME!?"

"Well, yes- because technically, Lord Heimdall is a Guardian of Bifrost, and was given the ability to be all hearing and all seeing," chuckling a bit, he looked up into the blue sky still not facing her and sighed once more, "When I was there- I just wanted to see you again, I mean- I don't know- I don't even know what we have here..."

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Astrid, was no ordinary Viking woman, she was skilled with an axe, a blade, a pole weapon, even shield fighting. She was also skilled in the house, weaving, cleaning, every skill a Shield Maiden must learn of her age, except cooking. She was tough, she was tenacious, fearless and brutal, but his words seemed to be affecting her like no other. His expressions are stripping her hardness one by one, her face, unused to blushing except through the cold harsh winds, he managed to do it with quite a few words. She wasn't ignorant or blind, she knew that Hiccup _fancied _her a lot, but she was not sure how much, was it for keeps or just a warrior's itch. It's so frustrating to figure him out!

He has this way with words before, but now with a few sentences she was reduced to this juvenile ranting in her head and- damn it all, he wasn't even saying the _'L' _word out into the open yet.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, when they captured Toothless... it felt like a lifetime ago, then you inspired me to do something, to go after my Dad and-" he turned to her and met her eyes, she was holding herself he could see it, "-I don't know, you believed in me. You were the very first one, even Gobber, Thor bless him, wouldn't believe me at first... but you- you were with me and readily believed in me, and you even followed me with what I want. You know, despite-"

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"Kidnapping me?"

"Well," he shifted his gaze and his footing, scratching his arm uncomfortably, "It was Toothless' idea to fly like an idiot that day... but still you believed me."

Approaching her slowly, he took hold of her two hands, earning another blush from her and looked at her. Ocean blue met forest green eyes as they delved deeper into each other, "Astrid, I'm not saying it out loud because I want something to happen- I just- I just want you to know."

"I- I you know-" he looked at her shyly and shuffled his feet, "Well, Astrid I think I-"

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"Hey Hiccup! Cousin!"

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"I like dragons," the color drained from his face as he turned annoyed at the approaching Snotlout and the rest of the Dragon Riders.

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**To be continued.**

**Author's note:**

Sorry for the delays, it's holidays and all. Forgive me! *cries and runs hysterically away*

Replies:

**Well, so far no Guest reviews, already replied to the PMs!**

Cheers everyone,

Scarabeye3000


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: Any characters mentioned are all under copyright. This work is purely fan-made.**

**Title: From Asgard to Midgard**

**Author: Scarabeye 3000**

**Chapter 6: **_**'Where treachery lies...'**_

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Before we proceed I would like to give a lot of thanks to: **Arnar Þór Benediktsson,** for helping me so much.

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Berk

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_"I like dragons."_

_._

Astrid cursed inwardly, she was stunned, she likes dragons too thank you very much! She was irritated at him, and at them for interrupting, but before she could turn her fury at him, he was already facing his kin and friends and gave them an awkward smile as Astrid simmered with an obvious anti-climactic confession. "Hey guys!"

"Hey Hiccup!" Snotlout went ahead of the group and approached him, "So, I was saying to the guys that since your back- I didn't need to be Chief anymore and-"

"Wait!" the color on Hiccup's face drained, "What did you say?"

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"Oh!" Fishlegs broke through the conversation and said, "Well, since your disappearance the Chief made Snotlout the Heir of Berk being your cousin and all, but since your here now... well, everything goes back to the way it was."

"I'm so relieved your back!" his cousin, albeit stouter and larger than him still seemed to full of himself, "Being Chief is cool and... uh, obviously honorable- but it's cramping my style. And being stiff and proper is so not cool, all those decision making, being smart and all that. I'm more of a man of action."

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"I'm so relieved too he's not gonna be Chief," Tuffnut interjected, and reeled back as the larger Viking hit him in the head, "Ow! Ok! Not like I hate you brother man, but yeah, Hiccup's smarter of course."

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Ruffnut, although still sporting her twin braids just like her brother approached him and looked at him sideways, "Puberty is looking good on you Hiccup... want to take a walk?"

"HOLD IT! EVERYONE STOP TALKING!"

.

Everyone stared at Hiccup as if he's grown a second head, his outbursts stunned his companions and they looked at each other. "Why are you guys even talking to me?"

"What do you mean?"

"Didn't you hate me?"

Snotlout shrugged his shoulders and half-nodded, half-shook his head, "I don't know, not really I guess, I just knew I didn't hate you as much as I thought I would- I mean, we were kids back then and it was just funny to poke fun at you-"

"It WAS fun!?" Hiccup said dryly, "Do I look like something funny to you?"

"Well, since we grew up... I find it childish now, but I got to admit it was fun. Your not emotionally scarred are you?"

"Pfft! Emotionally scarred?" the young Viking approached his cousin and offered a fist, which was answered with a fist bump from his old tormentor, "No, it's all water under the bridge."

_._

"Since you two love birds decided to get all cozy, do you mind if we ask you some things that's been bothering our minds," Fishlegs interjected as he looked hopefully at Hiccup, he nodded and he raised his two beefy arms in the air, "Woohoo! Now, tell us everything what happened when you were taken to Asgard."

_._

He smiled as he looked at all their expectant faces, even Astrid approached him and was curious of his tales, so he gestured for them to walk with him as he made his way to the inner village heading to the old kill ring.

.

.

Asgard 5 years ago

.

Hiccup opened his eyes and looked up at the gilded ceiling above him, such soft bed was unheard of in Berk and the covers are nothing like his furs. They were thinner, softer, but warmer than everything he have held. His pillow was soft and firm, unattainable with any kind of feathers or stuffing that might come to mind. He gingerly sat up and swung his feet to the ground, his left leg had a dull aching pain in it, but it was still whole thank the gods-

.

"THE GODS!" he shouted as he suddenly stood up.

.

"I saw in my vision that you would awake young man," Odin, in all his glorious armor, tunic and magnificent spear approached him from the doorway, "You have been sleeping for a long time chilf."

He reigned in his emotions as the scarred old man with the one eye spoke with him, he bowed down and said stuttering, "I- uh... thank you oh great Odin! Although, I'm not really sure what I'm still doing here."

The old man chuckled and struck his spear to the ground, the sound resonated around the room as visions, nope, the whole room changed its constitution in Hiccup's eyes. Amazement filled his heart as he looked at the shape-shifting ability of the God, he was showing him moving pictures of him, of past exploits and the explanation to his questions. "Your father prayed to me, I simply obliged and brought you here- since your exploits are truly heroic, if you had died, you would be in my halls immediately, so the answer to your question is, you have a purpose and a need to do something first."

.

Still confused at the words given to him, he saw Odin turn and was about to walk away, "If your legs are strong enough then walk with me child."

.

Slipping and sliding from the shiny floor, of which constructed from a stone he have never seen before, like a stone made of mirror. As he caught up, a black object came bounding to him, knocking him out of his feet, then something wet obstructed his view and he was drowning again in dragon saliva. "Stop! Ok! ok! Stop Toothless! Oh Odin's spear please stop- sorry for taking your name in vain. Oh man it stinks!"

As the dragon released him, the Night Fury realizing that Odin stood near them, bowed his head again respectfully, never in a hundred years would Hiccup forget, that such a majestic animal could bow its head in understanding. That didn't stop him anyway from licking him all over again, "Would you stop it!? I don't even think it's going to wash out!"

"Child," both rider and dragon stop as the God opened his mouth to speak, "You ask why you are here are you not? Feast, and fill your belly... you have a long day ahead of you. I shall discuss it to you during the feast."

.

They made their way to the dining hall and as Odin came up to the doorway, the guards stood in attention, all songs, music, laughter and conversations died down as the Allfather, with Hiccup trailing Toothless made its way into the room. "Svo, ungi maðurinn frá Miðgarði er vaknaður!" , _("So, the young man from Midgard is awake!,") _a large man in red armor and more hair than he could comb raised his tankard and took a sizable gulp, "Meira öl þá!" , _("More ale then!")_

.

"Volstagg, he can't understand you, speak in his terms," Odin lightly reprimanded the larger man as he made his way to the end of the table, where a beautiful young woman, dressed in a glowing dress smiled happily at them. "Hello my dear, I brought our guest now."

Frigga, beautiful, radiant, gentle, and loving, Hiccup could not express his feeling as he laid his eyes on the beloved Goddess who wields their strands of fate. She smiled serenely at him and spoke, "Take a seat child, I see that my husband has not chosen yet for the day."

The elder God beside her laughed softly, and took a cup of golden mead to his lips, "For thousands of years, I have not took first pick since the day that I dared to do so."

The Goddess stood up and fussed over Hiccup as Toothless was given a separate place a little way over the side, she was stroking his hair and he felt. Safe, content, like embraced in a mother's gentle embrace and touch, he almost cried out as Frigga stepped away from him and resumed her seat beside her husbands. "And why is that my dear?"

.

"I have fought countless battles over the millenia my love, but the fight of words with you I always fear."

.

Suddenly, a whooshing sound came from the terrace and heavy boots came soon thereafter, a blue armored giant graced Hiccup's eyes as he gulped down some water from a cup offered to him by a Valkyrie. Thor Odinson, the mighty God of Thunder and Storms strode confidently towards them and gave a booming laugh as he looked at the small boy in front of him.

"Is Father taking in strays again?"

Laughter resonated through the halls as the joke was heard, the only young man in the group burned in embarrassment and blushed profusely, Volstagg, the red giant of a man earlier spoke in the tongue that Hiccup used, "Don't mind him boy- he's always jesting and poking fun, but he has a kind heart, honorable soul and massive love for all things that are good."

"I- I'm not- you know, worried or something-" he stuttered as a third of the Warrior's Three looked down at him with a jovial smile, "and- and... Why are you laughing?"

.

"Your not a very good liar," Volstagg's smile and rosy cheeks eased his emotions, "But... but that is good young one."

.

Thor's deep booming voice said, "He's always taking in strays- I mean look at my brother for instance-"

.

"Ertu að tala um mig aftur?" , (_"Are you talking about me again?")_

.

The room's temperature suddenly plummeted as someone approached from the shadows, a tall man, in green tunic walked slowly and silently as he stepped into the light. Oh man, the tension in the room you could cut with a spoon as the other major God stepped right in front of a bristling Thor while Frigga noticeably shook her head, "Að tala um mig mun ekki hjálpa með þröngsýni þinnar og villimennsku að sveifla hamri, oh mikli og öflugi Þór." , _("Talking about me won't help with your narrow-mindedness and barbaric tendencies to swing a hammer, oh great and mighty Thor.")_

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"Alla vega, ég fel mig ekki í skuggunum eins og einhver silfur tungu meindýr-" , _("At least, I don't cower in the shadows like some silver tongued vermin-")_

"-Það er ekki mín sök að þú hefur list tilhneigingu á við þriggja-fótar ísbjörn sem er að reyna elta niður bráð sína-" , _("-it's not my fault you have the cunning tendencies of a three-legged polar bear trying to stalk its prey-")_

"Ég þarf ekki að vera listugur" , _("I don't need to be cunning!")_

.

The blonde haired Thunder God grinned playfully as Loki Odinson made his full height show, his skin was pale while Thor's was burned by the wind and sun, their heights were the same, his hair was jet black shiny and sparkled with the light of negative suns while Thor's emitted a faint glow as his golden locks jostled and bounced accentuating his almost bearded face. Their eyes also contrast, while the Thunder God had blue ocean eyes like Astrid, the Trickster had green piercing eyes like Hiccup and as they jostled and sparred with words he saw that Loki wetted his lips with his tongue and Volstagg held Hiccup protectively in his arms.

.

"Oh, Þú þarft þess ekki? Hvernig svindlaðiru dömu Sif þá?" ,_ ("Oh, you don't need to be? How did you con Lady Sif then?")_

_._

"Ég skal sýna þér, eftir að ég MÖLVA þig með Mjölni!" , (_"I'll show you after I SMASH you with Mjölnir!")_ he raised his warhammer and prepared to strike Loki, suddenly a loud thud stopped him in mid-swing as Thor and the Trickster looked at their father striking the tiled floor with his spear, _Gungnir_.

.

"Stop both of you-" Frigga shook her head and smiled at the green-eyed God, "-enough tricks my son."

.

Thor looked back at Loki's form standing right beside him and saw it was glittering and vanishing into millions of tiny light as Loki, the real one materialized sitting right beside Frigga across Hiccup and tore a piece of bread in two nonchalantly. He was looking smug at his brother as the blue eyed God huffed and sat next to Odin's seat, rubbing salt into the wound, Loki visibly mouthed, _'Got you...' _Thor bristled and was about to rise again when their father hissed at them both.

.

"Ég sagði nóg, báðir tveir!" , _("I said enough both of you.")_

.

Thor bristled and seethed in anger as he grabbed a cup of wine and drank still irritated at Loki, he huffed and said to no one in particular, "Fine, you win this time."

Loki laughed, satisfied at the other side as they all ate with the tension easing around them, "Thank you brother, did you hurt yourself saying that?"

"I'm not listening," the blonde God cleaned his cup with two large gulps and threw the earthen tankard to the ground shattering it to a hundred pieces, "We have excellent wine today. ANOTHER!"

.

"My love, I wish now to choose the warriors that will be under my care."

.

Lady Frigga ate continuously as Odin looked at her and smiled, gesturing towards a few guards, they let in the warriors already taken from numerous realms that are under the protection of Asgard. Specimens of such bravery and heroism were showcased that even the young boy in their midst felt so inadequate, so out of place, and so-

"I choose the Midgardian," a cup was dropped and shattered to a hundred pieces, the silence was deafening, and only Volstagg consistent chewing can be heard over the silence. Thor's voice, his mouth muffled by the food said in jest, "Why choose the smallest mother? You know, he can vastly improve under my stable and halls."

.

"It is precisely his size that mother chose him," Loki, his silver tongue licking the remaining wine on his lips grinned at the young boy across the table, "Your all brute strength brother, I fear you would crush his small frame, frankly, he's perfect for the arts of assassination and subterfuge."

"You would strip him the honor in battle?"

"-the only honor in battle that you sought were the ones hammered in with your weapon."

"Tis' not my fault your heart were unworthy of sacrifice."

.

Before the tension could escalate, and Hiccup reduced to a gasping Midgardian, the Lady Frigga stood up and reached across the table giving Hiccup a simple leather bracelet with a green stone inscribed with her rune symbol. "Everywhere you wish to go in Asgard you are welcome Hiccup Stoickson, that rune will identify you would be training primarily under my halls... the Gods that are under my Halls will give you a 'gift' of knowledge that you shall use upon your return. It will take years for you to learn the small things that we would teach, but I assure you, your advancements would make your name be sung throughout the generations."

"Th- Thank you, milady," he gave a small bow and as he raised his eyes, he found another pair of green piercing eyes look at him intensively. A voice invaded his head as Loki mouthed the words in front of him, _'Welcome to our world... Nidhogg Tamer.'_

.

The next day, after giving him his own room at the halls of Frigga, Hiccup was led into the training halls where Volstagg and two more men stood in wait for him. With his ever present smile, the large man gestured to the weapon rack making him pick one, curiously he picked a small short sword. It had a well-rounded pommel, the blade guard was another simple straight piece of steel and he looked up at the trio expectantly.

"Very well, you must be wondering why there are three of us, today you must begin your training in strength, speed, and skill."

.

Volstagg approached him and motioned for the scowling man in his left side, "May I introduce this fine example of a warrior, Hogun the Grim, he will be your teacher for the next few weeks and when you will be ready you will be released to another teacher."

.

"Why?"

.

"Well, see here young man the three of us are companions of Thor, and in battle none may equal me in strength, none equals Fandral in speed, and none equal Hogun in skill."

.

"What about the other Gods?"

The red armored man chuckled flippantly, "Oh! Don't mind them child... I'm talking about the rank and file Asgardians. We are as you called 'named' ones, for we have been given songs and sagas- but enough about us, Hogun?"

"Now then child," the man named Hogun aimed a similar short sword at him and gave him a small poke, surprised Hiccup looked at the wound that managed to draw some blood. He stepped back with a gasp as pain spread throughout his body with the contact, he exclaimed, "He- Hey! What- What are you doing!?"

Volstagg and the other man named Fandrall stood chuckling at the spectacle, "Don't worry, Hiccup Stoickson, when the day is over your wounds can be healed and no damage can be seen... so, be careful then, our friend there is not very amicable and very, very high strung."

.

The addressed man frowned and grinds his teeth, "I'm plenty amicable..." he stabbed another shallow wound at Hiccup as he continued his relentless assault, "... and who ever said I was too high strung!?"

.

Hiccup's shrieks of pain and grimace can be heard as Volstagg and Fandrall turned away to leave, "He's definitely high strung."

.

.

.

**To be continued... **

**A****uthor's note**

Imagine Hiccup waking up in a modern hospital, soft sheets made of cotton, pillows made from memory foam, floors made of marble, it would be mind-blowing for him. Plus, I wanted them to have a conversation with him, where all is well. All translations were done by a native of Iceland, Arnar Þór Benediktsson, giving me a full translation to all the words and phrases to make it look more. EPIC!

.

Reviews are greatly appreciated, I always reply to them, as Private Messages or for Guest right here in the author's note.

**.**

Cheers everyone,

Scarabeye3000


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: Any characters mentioned are all under copyright. This work is purely fan-made.**

**Title: From Asgard to Midgard**

**Author: Scarabeye 3000**

**Chapter 7: **_**'There's the Rub!'**_

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Berk

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"So, they always kicked your butt?"

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Hiccup frowned and face-faulted, "... not exactly, but the Asgardians can be pretty harsh when they're instructing, they can be quite brutal in the heat of the battle. Oh yeah, I-uh, I got this-" he lifted his tunic a bit showing a jagged scar running from his sides down to the 'V' of his toned hips. This earned a blush and a wetting of lips from both Astrid and Ruffnut, seeing his tight abs and toned sides, "-from Fandral, his sword thrust is faster than a blink of an eye. It missed my vital organs, and it earned him a few days doing chores for Lady Frigga."

"So-" the blonde, blue eyed Valkyrie in front of Hiccup cleared her suddenly dry throat and her foggy mind, Frigga's leathery Y-fronts! It's just his sides with a scar running down to the middle of- _'Stop this madness Hofferson!'_ , "So, you fight in the morning or rather train, then you get healed in the evening? That is pretty... amazing."

.

"I got to hand it to you Astrid, to think fighting and eating as the only joys in life," Hiccup smiled with a huff as his old friends looked at him admiringly, "Most stories about fighting and feasting is true- it really just gets to you."

.

"... and then what?"

"Well, I finally finished my training with the Warriors Three, with my training focusing on speed and skill rather than strength-"

Snotlout puffed up his chest and looked at him mockingly, "I bet you can't take me down cousin! You may have done some training... but now even Astrid is having trouble sparring with me."

.

Skeptical looks showered him and the Jorgenson merely swiped it away like duck shaking off water. Astrid smiled evilly and gestured towards Hiccup, "Well Snotlout, since you think your so good... why don't you and Hiccup try a little sparring match?"

"Me and him!? Come on babe," both cousins laughed, Snotlout in indignancy, Hiccup in disbelief, "I can even do this bare-handed!"

"Did you hear him?" Astrid mockingly pointed at the larger Viking near her with her thumb.

.

The green eyed young man shifted uncomfortably, "That's not a really good idea- my attacks are impulsive and we might get hurt-"

"WE!? Did you say we, oh ho! We may have reconciled, and we're ok and cool dear cousin, but an affront to my honor thinking that we're on the same level leaves a bad taste in my mouth," the larger Viking beats his chest and shouts to the few lingering Vikings, "My cousin has insulted me! And now, I demand he honors a duel between us."

"What!? NO!"

.

Hiccup looked scandalized, the few villagers began approaching them now and he even saw his father walking to the stands which supposed to be an inspection since he was walking with Gobber and Fjall. Seeing the mounting tension the Chief of Berk approached and inquired, "Are there any problems? Hiccup? Snotlout?"

.

"Chief," the idiotic cousin who is too full of himself loudly declared, "I have been wronged, He has insulted me as being less of a man. I demand an honorable duel right now!"

Gobber was stunned, "You can't possibly be serious!? A fair fight with-"

"- I know, I know it's almost too cruel to fight me one on one," Snotlout interjected at the incredulous looks everyone was giving him, although he seemed immune to them, "Who can even last long against this 'fine specimen' of a Viking?"

.

"uh-huh... " disbelief etched into everyone's face as Astrid also said, "Do you even know who took down Drago?"

"I'm pretty sure its someone awesome because I was kinda attending to my dad, but why are we even talking about some random guy?"

"Right, it's official... You are insane to even think that you can take down Drago's-"

"Hold it," the Chief held out his hand, he looked at his son and his cousin and made a decision, "Very well nephew, you shall have your duel. In the following days, at the coming of our ally Big-breasted Bertha and his clan-"

.

"Wait, Camicazi and her mother is coming here at Berk?"

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Stoick nodded his head, "During the battle with Drago, we sent messengers to all our allies and nearby Chiefs. She was the one that answered the call first, but learning of the miracle that happened here and the return of my son, they were one of the few who were quite relieved. They were also quite elated to send word by 'Dragon Mail' that they were coming including their Heir for a social visit.

"Dragon mail?" Hiccup asked as stroked a passing dragon in the neck.

"I forgot to mention that ever since you were taken we managed to include not just dragons in warfare, but in communication as well. Using terrible terrors was a good choice, they are able to carry immense loads of parchment, easier to train, and quite good at tracking." The Chief proudly said as a terrible terror landed on his broad shoulder that was carrying a roll of parchment, "Perfect timing too... An outlying rider sends words that the flagship of Bertha approaches the western seas. Only two shipswere seen, one for Bertha and one for her daughter. Perfect timing indeed!"

.

Hiccup's heart swelled at another innovation that Berkians have taken an initiative to, it seems all the pain in his past were worth it. The disappointments, the heartache, the pain of his past he felt as if everything was slowly ebbing away. Though the looming bout with Snotlout dampens his heart, still the changed village buoyed his thoughts that the numerous projects he was gearing to do only means that they would certainly be more open now.

"Well, since your here I would like to address one more thing about our previous problems with Drago," Stoick gestured for them to follow as they walked towards the nearby beach. A monstrous dragon sat just off shore as it raised its broken tusk, the tamed Bewilderbeast that Drago commanded still mourned the loss of its master. Toothless went with them as Hiccup felt a tug on his heart.

.

"Oh man..."

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Astrid stood near him as she look at the great beast with pity, "It looks so... Sad."

Looking at the Night Fury beside him, Hiccup nodded and quickly mounted his friend, with a few wing beats they lifted off the ground and headed straight for the Bewilderbeast as everyone looked on. Approaching the leviathan dragon, the rider patted his mount reassuringly as they hovered nearby. The great dragon looked at them and moaned loudly, it was a pitiful sound to hear, who could have thought that such a majestic creature could cry.

Now, Hiccup carefully approached with his arms wide open and slowly but surely landed softly at the dragon's snout, taking great care not to make sudden movements and touched both hands at it's somewhat nose. He took deep calming breaths as he felt the beast mimicking his pace of breathing, opening his eyes the dragon's yellow white eyes held his as he spoke softly.

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"You are a King who has only known the yoke of servitude, you were made to pull the great ships of a warlord too deranged to even shower you with proper friendship and affection," the dragon rumbled, as if contemplating his words, "Now, I have broken the bonds of servitude and gave you the freedom and status you deserve... Go now, and live free, it is time you heal your own wounds and calm your mind. Your life is yours and yours alone, let not your majesty falter to slavery, and your freedom in days of shackled fate."

.

As he finished his litany, Toothless took hold of him as Hiccup stood up, spreads out his arms and the Night Fury flew him away. Landing around his peers he looked back at the Bewilderbeast and saw it gave him one last fleeting look and submerged itself moving towards the open sea. He turned to his friends and saw they were looking at him with renewed awe and admiration, "Wha- what are you looking at!?"

Fishlegs wiped a tear from his eye and smiled, "That was soo awesome."

"You just talked to a giant dragon-"

"-that was the enemies dragon!"

"What's going to happen to it now?"

Hiccup shrugged his shoulders, "Who knows? It's all up to him now... I hope he finds whatever he is looking for."

.

From afar, a large Viking can be seen huffing and puffing as he ran towards their party.

Fjall, the father of Fishlegs rushed up to them as Stoick was still smiling at the things his son is slowly showing them. Sure, he's thin and less muscular than a normal Viking, but he can see that his son was different, in his fighting style, the way he carries himself, and the way he somehow leads his peers.

"Something wrong Fjall?"

"Ships, my Chief and there's two of them, they fly the Bog-Burglars banner. Orders?"

Stoick nodded, "Send two riders to welcome them, be careful on the approach to the docks, many destroyed ships are still stuck and their broken timbers pose a hazard to all ship traffic."

"Understood sir!"

Fjall nodded in understanding and raced towards the docks, he then turned to the riders and Gobber, "You twins, get down to the Great Hall and make sure the preparation for the feast is underway-" with a pause he turned to Astrid, "- on second thought, why don't you go with them Astrid?"

The look he gave the twins made Astrid understand of the worry his Chief has if the twins somehow get involved, she nodded firmly and gestured to Hiccup, "See you later Hiccup."

.

As they walked away the Chief turned to Snotlout, "See if your father can stand up now, I'm sure he's anxious to show his battle scar, if he can I want him at the feast tonight," his nephew also nods and raced back in the direction of their house.

"Gobber and Hiccup, now the Bog-Burglars are here supposedly to assist us in the defense of Berk, but since victory was ours, their intentions now are probably two-fold, one they wish to see how much we have lost and if Berk is still well-fortified, two, a reaffirmation of our alliance."

Both addressee nodded their heads, "I want you both to carry out the suggestion Hiccup made, they won't be here until the twilight tide sets in so you have much time to do so."

"Hmm, that's quite an order, forging and gilding could take a few hours, plus artificer work in a weapon usually takes days."

"Let's just use a shortsword then," Hiccup interjected as his father nodded, "I'm sure Camicazi would love that, given her penchants for swords."

Gobber rubbed his mustache and nodded, "That's a great idea, but giving your betrothal a short sword seemed cutting it close, I mean, I thought Camicazi preferred long swords-"

.

Stoick slapped his forehead as the blacksmith stopped talking and looked immensely guilty at what he said, "- I wasn't supposed to say that."

Hiccup froze at his friend's words, "W- w- what was tha- now hold it, what betrothed?" He looked at his father and he looked scandalized, his father was blushing to his ears, his nose was aglow and his cheeks were tinted red, "You have got to be kidding me- what- what did you say to them dad?"

.

Stoick looked like he was caught doing something embarrassing, "Well son, I sort of written that you were back from training far away, helped the war with Drago and is currently eligible."

"You said I was eligible!" Hiccup blurted in disbelief, "Oh man, why would you do that."

"But you are not with someone right now," Stoick insisted.

Hiccup sighed still blushing madly and began to head for the forge, "I was going to ask someone else... I'm just waiting for the right time."

"By someone else you mean Astrid right?"

Both Gobber and Stoick sighed in relief, sidling next to him as he nodded, "Well, Astrid is a fine young woman-"

"Aye..."

"-plus, I think she's a virgin."

"OH! By the GODS! COME ON DAD!" Hiccup exclaimed his face blushing madly, he was horrified at the direction of their conversation and burning to even know that Astrid remains untouched, "I really don't want to hear that from you... Odin's pointy Spear!"

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"Regardless, it is done, if you don't want to pursue such feelings with Camicazi then it's alright, but the duel with your cousin will still happen"

"-but Dad..."

"It will push through, it will affirm your status as Heir to chiefdom of Berk, and if honor must be satisfied then it shall be satisfied."

Stoick walked away, but not before saying, "Work the forges and make your name in the forge upon which you take pride into, as much as I take pride in you son."

.

Hiccup sighed heavily as he looked on at his father's receding form, he may have resolved some of the issues that they might have had, but change can never happen overnight. Gobber sympathetically puts an arm on his shoulder and smiled, "So, ready to work the bellows?"

The young man smiled as they made their way to the forge.

.

"I heard that Camicazi is a virgin too."

"GOBBER!"

"Hehe..."

.

.

a few hours later

.

Forge bellows swell as the young man poured air and water into the gilding, it wasn't that hard to meld metal like clay, although it requires very delicate hammering to work the jewelry and the gold around the weapons. Donning only a blacksmith's apron and his pants, he pounded the glowing dagger and gold trying to fuse them together in a seamless sense of a weapon. Sweat trickled from his lean and sculpted body as he held the hammer on his left hand and the glowing metal on his right. Numerous scars accentuate his arms and body that was previously hidden by his armor, while young girls peeking and giggling at every crevice and openings at the forge as every hit and bang of Hiccup on the anvil shook his muscles, sweat sprayed from his arms as he continues his work, undeterred, unflinching and focused at the task at hand.

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Astrid carried a yoke with two pails balanced on each end, as she came to the forge. Hearing loud giggling she turned a bend and saw almost 15 girls younger than her, biting their lips, blushing, giggling, burying their faces at their hands, and just being a gang of silly girls fawning over a certain brown haired boy hammering away gifts for their guests. And leading them was none other than,

"RUFFNUT!"

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The eldest of the giggling group of girls flinched and her cohorts scattered at the Hofferson's scalding gaze, they were both of the senior riders and both of them were unmarried.

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"What do you think your ALL doing here?" Astrid stomped forward and bopped Ruffnut on the top of her head, "You were supposed to help Tuffnut and ME to do the preparations and here I see you ogling Hiccup!"

The better half of the Thorston twins grinned and waved her hand in front of her friend in a flippant manner, "What can I say Astrid? The view is a real eye candy- why don't you take a peek?"

Rolling her eyes she strode forward and passed the yoke to a grumbling Ruffnut, she smacked her behind for equal measure as the Thorston grudgingly took the pail and headed for the Mead Hall. Shaking her head in disbelief she was about to follow her when she stopped on her tracks as she heard the distinct bang of smithing hammer to an anvil. Debating on her actions, she just found herself involuntarily walking to the backdoor of the forge and taking a guilty peek inside.

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She immediately blushed as the hard glow of the burning forge clearly illuminated Hiccup as he worked the hammers and pulled at the bellows. The bellow fed it the air for its life, as the fire gave the blade its shape. Submerging the blade in both Fire and water in equal measure, he gave the blade form, life, and beauty. Feeling her throat go dry and her breath catch on her chest, she felt anxious as she saw him pounding the malleable metal to his desired form. His sweat clung to him in a masculine sheen as the smell of metal cooling, sulfur, burning coal and firewood, mixed with his scent of parchment reached her trained olfactory senses_. 'Oh my Frigga... He's intoxicating.'_

Her feverish observation intensified as he puts down his hammer and raised the finished dagger in the light.

"My goodness, your like a God of the Forge-

"-don't jest Baldr or Brokkr... Please Gobber, I have never have I seen works of theirs that evoke such beauty so don't jest them again."

Gobber's eyes widened at his apprentice's reprimand, "Right, right you are lad. Well, I'll do the finishing polish and sharpening of the blade why don't you rest and wash."

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With a grateful sigh and stretch he made his way towards the well of water near the forge and splashed the cold liquid to cool his over heated body. Astrid was still observing him when he turned to her, his hair dripping with mixed water and sweat., his shoulders steaming noticeable vapors from his rapidly cooling body. He smiled at her and waved, "Hi Astrid, what- what are you doing here?"

"I- uh I was- I was just making sure that all preparations were going smoothly-" she stammered as she fiddled her fingers behind her back as he slowly sauntered over him and loosened his braids in front of her, "Your Dad did put me in charge of the preparations-" she took a step back and a deep calming breath, "-and... and you need to do to if you don't want to miss the celebration."

Hiccup nodded in understanding, did a small bow with a flourish and left her standing near the backdoor of the forge.

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She watched him walked away and her heart finally stabilized back to normal.

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Astrid felt the relief rush to her and held onto the side of the forge for support, she was about to faint when a voice broke her out of her reverie.

"Yeah, he has the same effect on me," she turned horrified and found Ruffnut Thorston, still carrying the yoke with a smug and satisfied look on her face, "- and it's gratifying to see he has the same effect to our great Shieldmaiden Astrid Hofferson, the only question now is- how about down _South_?"

Her screech could be heard as she easily used the yoke to throttle Ruffnut to unconsciousness.

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Down at the docks, a young woman stood on the bow of her ship and looked on at the looming town, her long blonde hair extended past her lower back as it whipped behind her with the wind. A brown wooly vest covered her dark green dress and great leather boots covered her white coltish legs, she has a long roman sword attached to a belt on her pronounced hips, and her shapely figure is partially hidden by a cloak of a furry animal around her and the Bog burglar crest emblazoned behind it. Her blazing brown eyes belied a ferocity in her as her beautiful face, easily rivaling Astrid held a confident smug smile. She observed as the first of the riders of Berk came flying towards her and landed on the bow of her ship, the rider respectfully bowed and said, "Are you the Commander of this ship?"

"Aye, my name is Camicazi," she fingered her sword and jutted out her jaw, "Who might you be?"

"I was sent by the Chief of Berk to navigate your ship through the shipwrecks that are littering the whole bay, we aren't able to clean every ship that sunk so we must help you to navigate it."

The Bog-Burglar Princess nods her head and looks behind the rider, "Kalina, give him the helm." The dragon rider from Berk took hold of the helm as his dragon, a yellow green Hobblegrunt took its position towards the bow.

"All right Arrow! You know what to do!" The dragon roared as it puts its eyes near the water, helping with the navigation taking care not to hit any lumber or shipwreck jutting just below the water. The second ship, also helmed by a Berkians rider eased behind the first one as it followed carefully behind.

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Camicazi looked on as the rider carefully and skillfully followed the movements of his dragon as if they were leading him to Hellheim's gate. As if on complete sync, the rider would turn the ship whenever the dragon would turn its head. She sidled up to the dragon rider just behind him taking care not to block the view of the new helmsman.

"So, I heard that Hiccup is back."

"Aye milady," the rider nodded and continued driving, "Truly, it was a miracle he arrived at just the right moment."

"The stories that reach us are quite vague, would you care to fill me in?"

The rider scratched his head and continued, "What would you like to know milady?"

"Is it true he was the one who killed Drago?"

'

The rider smiled and nodded, "Aye milady, from atop his Night Fury, he jumped from his mount and buried his swords at the great enemy. It was so awe-inspiring to see such deed performed right in front of you. He showed his skills in the Battle of Berk even before he has confronted the great enemy. and he fights with the ferocity of wolves and the dexterity of a snake, skills bestowed by the Gods, none dare call him 'Useless' now."

The two ships finally reached their mooring area as the Vikings of Berk lined the docks, a mixture of men, women and children as the Bog-Burglars lined up their ships. Tying their ships to the dock posts the rider with the dragon named Arrow mounted and was gone with a few wing beats.

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Bertha and Camicazi led the way of their tribe as they walked towards the Great Hall of Berk, the can see that the whole town is still progressing, houses some still in the process of repair, the fortifications made stronger and dragons mixing with everyone else including their military.

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Inside the Mead Hall, Stoick sat behind the great table as the massive double doors opened and the Bog-Burglars came inside.

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"Hail! Bertha, Chieftess of the Bog-Burglars, I greet you welcome to Berk!"

A woman that is possibly as large as Stoick came forward spreads her arms wide in greeting and smiled a large smile. Wearing a common breasted leather armor that most Viking women use, a large pauldron on her right shoulder emblazoned with the Bog-Burglars crest, a long mane of blonde hair behind her and a more mischievous smile than her daughter can conjure and brown blazing eyes, she moved her great girth and opened her arms wide, "Welcome we are indeed! Tis' good to know that Berk endures still..."

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They made their way to their seats with Bertha sitting beside Stoick, Camicazi sat beside her mother as the rest of the Vikings settled down on their seats. The Bog-Burglars are not the biggest tribes, but they boast one of the specialties that are sought after in the Barbaric Archipelago and beyond. They are all expert thieves, spies, and excellent escape artists and that they moonlight sometimes as assassins, also they are well-known as a tribe of fierce female fighters and any Viking of any male they capture are immediately integrated to the tribe as husbands.

Stoick, as soon as the other Chief settled down raised his tankard and said, "To our friendship!"

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Exchanging toast with each other, music began playing from somewhere as the feast began in earnest. They were all served stew made from goat and wild boar, herbs, spices (probably from Drago's fleet), roasted chickens, sheep and every livestock one could possibly imagine. Breads freshly baked lined the tables as everyone began to eat in earnest.

"I heard your son is back Stoick?"

"Indeed, my heart is lifted and my spirit is in a good mood that the Gods preserved him."

"What about your plans now about your son? I know you wrote about him being with no one as of late-"

"Aha!" The Chief of Berk clapped his hands together and cleared his throat, "He does not wish to discuss it, and if he doesn't want to then I can't force him-"

"-that will not be good regarding the alliance." Bertha's voice noticeably went lower as if both disappointed and threatening.

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"-which is why he made something for you." Stoick clapped louder as the large double doors opened, and in comes Hiccup and Gobber carrying gifts in covered silk. The Chieftess and her daughter both gasped as the fine silk coverings were removed and their gifts were laid before them.

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"For Bertha, an artificer spearhead, and for Camicazi, a gilded short sword."

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Mother and daughter gasped at the gifts given to them, even their family heirlooms were not as beautiful as these were and Berk just gives them freely.

"I must say, your friend Gobber outdid himself with these treasures-"

The blacksmith smiled and jovially said, "I generally make good work, and it's nice to hear you say that Bertha my dear, but no... Hiccup made them all."

All eyes snapped to him immediately and his ears burned in embarrassment. Camicazi sat on the edge of her seat as she showered the young man with adoring eyes, "You all made this Hiccup."

He nodded as he took his seat and picked up a tankard of ale.

"Well, tell us what you did lad!" The Chieftess of the Bog-Burglars eyes brightened.

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"I- uh, I learned some smithing techniques that fuses iron to the less hardened gold and silver..." He gestured with his signature arm shake and blushed some more as Camicazi's gaze never left his, "... of course, without compromising the utilitarian use of the weapon. You can actually mount your mother's spearhead on a shaft and it won't bend, I actually guarantee it."

"I have to remember not to throw or hurl my spear with this kind of head," Bertha slid the artifact near her and caressed it, "... such intricate details."

The spear head, is shaped like a dragon's head with red jewel eyes, gold dust sprinkled around the whole spear head, complete with the details of the scales, teeth and horns running the whole length of the blunt side, the sharp side is engraved with numerous runes of supplication to Freyja, Goddess of War and the Valkyries, a fitting gift to a Chieftess.

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"Your wife would be truly blessed by the Gods indeed if you were to be married," Bertha slyly said as she covered her gift with the silken cover, "But tell me Hiccup, do you not find my daughter attractive anymore?"

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Those near their table almost stopped eating as the political maneuvering continued unabated, Bjornn Hofferson ate silently as Fjall, Lugnut, and Spitelout looked at each other and their Chief as Stoick met their gaze in a meaningful gesture. All could see that both Chiefs are acting amicably, yet their lieutenants are all alert, ready to pounce if need be.

"On the contrary Chieftess, I find her very attractive-".

A powerful murderous aura bloomed from the next table and Hiccup can help but flinch in terror.

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Astrid's tankard handle broke in two as her grip tightened on the defenseless utensil. Her face remained neutral, and her actions seemed calm, but her utensils... are all silently suffering. Bjornn, her father looked at her from the head table and gave her a reassuring nod. Ruffnut sidled next to her with a toothy grin on her face.

"Jealous much?"

The braided Valkyrie bristled, "Are you a glutton for punishment?"

Tuffnut slid in front of them as he bit off meat from a turkey leg, "Are you guys talking about Hiccup?"

"There's just so many questions about him, it's like he's a well of water so deep..." Ruffnut sighed dreamily, "I just don't know."

"-my dad said they're currently talking about the alliances with the Burglars," Fishlegs took a heaping plate and offered it to Ruffnut, "Some roasted goat my princess?"

Ruff growled in response, "Alliance for what? Dad said were really stable with the military, and Fjall even said that in response to our offensive capability we're currently unmatched. Hiccup is a great equalizer. Plus, we did defeat Drago and the coffers of Berk can't be fuller than most other times, he also said we should expect a raid in two or three days after the Burglars left."

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"That's also what my dad said," Astrid said almost in a whisper, "He also said that with Hiccup coming back and his legend growing still from the battle that happened, well, many would apply for his-" she stopped and blushed, "- his hand in marriage."

"That's why Camicazi is even here, that's what she wants to happen!" Ruffnut slapped her forehead and exclaimed, "- she's got the same idea as I am! Perfect! How about you Astrid? Wanna join in? You can have first dibs-"

"Don't make me choke you again," she sighed as she looked at Camicazi obviously listening to Hiccup as Bertha and Stoick spoke about the alliance. But even though she replies with a snarl and force, she couldn't doubt the feeling of her gut feeling cold as Camicazi blushed and playfully hits his arm.

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The night wore on as the music and merrymaking continued till midnight, after the feast the Bog-Burglar were led to a large house that would temporarily accommodate the visiting clan. "This halls would keep you safe, I have entrusted our mounts themselves- Skull crusher, Grump, Toothless!"

A large red horned Rumblehorn, a sleek black Night Fury, and a sleeping albeit floating Hotburple came forward.

"I asked Gobber and my son to lend their help, so you can rest assured none may dare disturbed you as long as all three of them-" Grump smashed through a wall, with the amazons jumping out of the way, amidst giggling and yelping of young women from their tribe, "-err, you can still rely on Toothless and Skullcrusher anyway."

"That bloody dragon will be the end of me-" Gobber sighed as he tried nudging his dragon awake, "-come on you, wake up!"

Bertha laughed easily at the comic relief the acid green dragon gave as her brood collectively marched inside, including Camicazi. "Thank you for your hospitality... We shall rest easy of course, and shall see you in the morning."

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With the Bog-Burglars secured into their own halls, Stoick and Gobber marched back into the Mead Hall where a heated argument between Bjornn and Spitelout were underway.

"We do not know their main reason for haggling an alliance-"

"-simple, any Viking with the common sense to know that Berk is at its peak of advancement. We can't even be called a village now, we're a fortified town as it is. One, why you ask is a tribe of Vikings, albeit with special talents, would come to our shore and began a treaty with us."

Fjall, father of Fishlegs, a mountainous size of a man interjected, "An alliance with Berk effectively puts them under the umbrella of our protection. With the right preparation, after a territory is raided we can attack them even before they can prepare for their victory feast. Just think of the possibilities with protectorates around Berk."

"I see your point Fjall, but we cannot simply appease our allies with trinkets that Hiccup makes, there is a limit material things can do to an alliance," Spitelout insisted.

"Right you are, but there is only two way to secure that-"

"Marriage," Stoick banged his open palm on the table, "I know what you ask of my son, I'm sure you also know that cannot be done."

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"He is the son of the Chief," Spitelout also banged his open palm at the table, "He must give what is asked of by the tribe-"

"Shut your trap Spitelout! You put words in the mouths of our Chief to exalt yourself- yet you are still blind of your own shortcomings."

The black haired Viking flustered at Bjornn, "If I was Chief-"

"-but you are NOT! So, we follow what Stoick says... Do you even know what to do with the immense treasure we have amassed with the cache from Drago? Or the advancements that we shall undertake under the plans of Hiccup? Of course not, that boy was sent by the Gods back here for a reason and it is in our power to help him fulfill it."

Lugnut stood up and nods, "Agreed, he is superior to his peers and could give, I believe even your daughter Bjornn an instruction in the handling of a blade. I shall not agree to any plan of Hiccup being married off without a fight-"

"-aye! The lad just got bloody back to us," Gobber finally cuts in into the conversation, "I'm not too keen to let him go to another tribe as it is!"

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"What about the Bog-Burglars?" Fjall shook his head, "We can't shoo them away, and they obviously came for Hiccup."

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"Tomorrow will be the duel between Snotlout and Hiccup am I right?"

All heads nodded, as Bjornn continued, "Maybe we can entice them to fight for his hand... Or let him fight on as a prize."

"He can fight for his hand!"

"That's stupid!

"Astrid can fight for him then-"

"-that's..." Bjornn stopped and frowned, "... That's actually a good idea."

Lugnut slammed his tankard on the table, "Ruffnut can join too!"

"Will they win?"

"What if Hiccup fights instead?" Fjall asked.

"Will he win?" Spitelout insisted.

"-he won against Drago-"

"-he was mounted with his Dragon."

"-but he was already fighting with the Golden Army."

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Stoick rubbed his chin and looked at Bjornn, "I task you with the practice sparring tomorrow of Hiccup- bring your daughter."

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"Why would I bring Astrid?"

The Chief smiled at his lieutenant, "My son fancies your daughter... Maybe you can make it harder by giving him a distraction."

Bjornn smiled at his chief, "Of course my liege."

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Svartalfheim

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"Ég hef talað við Svikarann" , ('_I have spoken with the Betrayer,') _a dark elf, with snowy white hair, black eyes and sallow skin walked out of the shadows and into a throne chamber, "Hann hefur skuldbundið sig, en hinir myndu ekki senda okkur skilaboð án okkar samkomulagi" , _(__"he has commited yet the others would not send us message without our agreement.")_

From atop a high pedestal, adorned with rotten bones, and overgrown roots, a white pallid face looked on from the gloom. His head adorned a laurel of sickly white crown of thorns, adorned with bits of silver and moon glitter, his voice a deep vibrato that chills the hardest spine, "Hvað segja ættmenn okkar?" , _("What does our kin say?")_

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"Kursarnir elta þig til gleymskunnar dá, ættbálkarnir fyrir norðan hafa safnast öldum saman og eru með þér, ættbálkarnir frá austri og suðri senda sína hollustu," , _(__"The Kursed follows you to oblivion, the northern tribes have amassed for centuries and they are with you, the east and south tribes also sends their allegiance.")_

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The Dark Elf king stood up, roots breaking off from him as he shook off the earthly bindings he was given, "Hvað með ættbálka álfa frá vestri?" , _("What of the Western Elven tribes?")_

"Stríð þeirra við Alflheima fer illa, þeir tapa fleirum en þeir drepa, samt stendur Yfirherra þeirra fastur á trú sigri þeirra." , _(__"Their war with Alflheim goes foul, they lose more than they kill yet their Autarch remains firm in their belief of victory.")_

Their leader grinned and laughed evilly, "Leyfum þeim að vera,það er þeirra aldra stríð sem leyfir okkur að vera ófundnir... Okkar Ríki, sem á óskilið örlog sín af ösku og eldi, skal rísa einu sinni enn og brjóta Ásgarð í tvennt." , _(__"Let them be, it is their centuries war that we managed to remain undetected... Our realm, undeserving of its fate of ash and fire shall rise once more and break Asgard in two.")_

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"Farðu, Náðu fornleifa gripunum sem þarfnast svo við getum kallað fram eyðileggendurna." , _(__"Go, obtain the artifacts needed so that we may summon the Destroyers.")_

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The smaller elf bowed and slunked back to the shadows, "Eins og þú skipar Herra Malekith." , _(__"As you command Lord Malekith.")_

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Malekith, the twisted Dark Lord of the Kursed Elves stepped out into his veranda overlooking his palace. Dark clouds cover the realm, as a negative sun gives off its remaining light, ashen ruins and broken monoliths and towers littered the landscape as a Great Tree, similar to Yggdrassil stood in the middle. Yet this tree is dead, leafless and barren, whereas Asgards Yggdrassil flourishes sustained by the light of the 9 realms, their own tree lie dead, unattended and lifeless. With a bitter look the lord of Svartalfheim looked on as crypt upon crypt opening rose up into the ashen ground as fire rained from the skies once more.

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Fury, unmasked by his cold visage graced the Lord of the Black lands and he bit his lower lip drawing blood.

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"Æsirnir munu allir deyja!" , _(__"The Aesirs will all die!")_

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**To be continued.**

**Author's note:**

I must give thanks to my reviewers and readers, they're the reason I can keep going.

But admittedly I'm getting lazy, I don't know, maybe I'm not doing a good job or the story is not really interesting. My point is, I have need of a little reader input, I'm not even sure if this story is good or not, with all the free time I've had with my vacation it's given me time to think. It's like a double edge sword.

This chapter is extremely long. Why? Simple, I had so much time when I went to Singapore, I finished two and a half chapters both more than 5 k long and a draft of a possible ending, I'm just proofreading the whole chapters and posted this new one. Hope, my readers can give me ideas with what you think or would like to see because my mind already has an ending and I want you guys to HELP me with what seemed to be one of my longest projects yet.

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Reviews people, I can't move on without you guys.

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Replies:

**For Mark (Guest review chapter 5): Well, you said it yourself... if they said the L word right there then we better pack our bags cause that's it I guess.  
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**For Flame (Guest review chapter 6): He definitely has a plan for the Nidhogg Tamer, but we shall see.**

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**For The Dane (Guest review chapter 6): I was trying to do a separator for every parenthesis that I'm doing. Since, they all bunch up and all you see is a bunch of sentences all jumbled up. I apologize since it might be annoying for some other readers (aside from you of course) but I really can't help it. I tried to remove it before, and it still looks so bad.**

Cheers everyone,

Scarabeye3000


	8. Chapter 8

**Reviews as of 1/2/15:**

killerbull27 (Guest) : I really hope you find this story epic since I haven't done enough to might call it epic. Please, enjoy this update as well.

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Guest #1 : I really needed to READ that its not boring. Thank you, for your review, it lifts my spirits... and for your request, maybe next chapter, I'm half-way through.

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Anonymous Writer : If you have been following me for a long time now? Where have you been then? I'll continue because I wouldn't want you to feel sad with an unfinished story. Now about Hiccup being discussed as a prize, well, imagine a BATTLESHIP or an OBJECT of such immense wonder and USE that came in the ancient world and one country has it, now the others would want it as well, so regardless of what everybody says they would fight, haggle, debate and even talk about using it, exploiting it, or keeping for themselves or away from their enemies. It sounds so bad, and so selfish, I know, but history says that if not all goes well, sabers get shaken. (In other words, war breaks out. And sometimes discretion is the better part of valor.)

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Guest #2 : I don't know if you have been inside a meeting of such importance before, but obviously, Hiccup being a gracious host find it prudent not to offend their guest, hence he did not say it straight in her face that he doesn't like to be Camicazi's husband. Furthermore, as a guest in the dark ages, under the protection of a flag of truce, Vikings would shower you with their hospitality without regards to vendetta, race, color, or clan. As long as you are under the notion of a truce, they will respect it or face the wrath of the Gods. Mind you, Vikings are very superstitious.

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Guest #3 : Chapter 7 is now UP! I re-uploaded it since the site is experiencing a problem with the updates.

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Guest #4 : There are so many 'What if...' plotlines in HTTYD section and come to think of it in every section that its probably getting on your nerves. I understand that is what you see in this, but writing on this site justifies the 'What if...' plotlines simply because that is our own personal take on the already given canon of the mother story... and please, Astrid's name translation is _'divine beauty'_ , are you seriously thinking I would degrade her personality by turning her into, as I quote you _" drooling fan girl"_ ? Come on, if I can make Hiccup cool, I can do so with the heroine of course. RRrrrrelax, don't be hasty and eat a SNICKERS.

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**All signed reviews are replied in PM. (except when you request you want it here.)**

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**Disclaimer: Any characters mentioned are all under copyright. This work is purely fan-made.**

**Title: From Asgard to Midgard**

**Author: Scarabeye 3000**

**Chapter 8: _'I don't want to get..._**_**'**_

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Jotunheim

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Cold mountain air pounded on the ground as the snow and wind bit into the skin and froze all exposed extremities, a lone figure walked the large plain as numerous ice formations littered the landscape. From afar, a large ice citadel rose in the gloom, with its halls lighted by a faint bluish light. Making its way towards the habitations it passed more ice formations and ice spires, but as it passed more of the strange frozen objects he saw they were actually body parts, hands, feet, half a head of a human, swords, spears that froze in the landscape. It was a site of a forgotten battlefield, its dead lay preserved beneath the ice as their trickle of reddish blood darkens the icy ground. No vegetation lay in sight, and only ice spires offer respite and protection from the cold arid winds, while little moisture is turned to snow that pelts the ends of the frayed coat the stranger was using. Surprisingly, his walk was tall, his pace was swift, and his breathing normal. No indication of the adverse effect of cold weather travel in his gait as he continued calmly towards the high citadel.

Not even animals can be seen as he mounted the large icy stairs to his destination, sharp ice stalactites and stalagmites from the sides of the natural ice wall greeted him as he finally saw the denizens of this cold desolate plains.

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This was Jotunheim, Home of the Fabled Ice Giants, Realm of Laufey, King of the Realm of Ice.

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The stranger continued until he came upon a rickety hanging bridge, crossing it with swift strides he reached the gates of the citadel as four frost giants, all standing 9 feet tall from their shoulders, they wield nothing and wore nothing except for an armored battle skirt and large woolen boots. Seeing him approach, they also met him and he saw them form swords, mace, hammer and spear from ice using their own frost magic.

"State your business here," the Jotun guard frowned as he caught his scent, "You- You have a familiar smell... yet your size."

Wind suddenly blew violently as the hood showed the stranger's face for a moment and the frost giants relaxed a bit, "My business is not with you," his mask covered his voice, but it was icy and cold, hinting no fear or emotion of distress, "Your King is my business here, my council is with him."

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The largest of the four gestured to the one nearest near him and grunted to the smallest as he was led beyond the vaulted archways. Stepping inside the halls of the Frost Giants he saw numerous Frost Giants frozen in place, silently guarding the cold hallways and darkened corridors. Thousands of sharp crystals hung from the ceiling as they gave off a soft bluish light illuminating the way. Tattered fabrics and curtains hung on every window as they did little to keep the cold wind outside, the halls were all barren cold, not a single decoration could be seen, not a single masonry piece, not even a statue or any annals of past battles can be seen.

"You'll find more cheer in a graveyard."

The Giant in front of him grunted in response, "After the war with Asgard, they took our source of power and our realm fell into disrepair, but with you coming along the boys are saying that the war will end-"

"Who told you that?"

"I did!" the Giant proudly said as they entered the Halls of Laufey, "I sometimes listen to the council as they talk-"

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With Laufey in view, the stranger removed his hood and showed greenish eyes behind a veil of dark black hair, his mask covered half his face and mouth, only his eyes and hair were revealed. The Frost Giant King raised his hand in greeting and said, "Ég er overrasket að þú ert kominn aftur svo fljótt?" , (_"I'm surprised your back so quickly?")_

The strangers eyes slits and coldly replied, "Veist þú að helmingur af mönnum þínum veit af mínum tilgangi að koma hér?" , (_"Do you know that half of your men know my purpose of coming here?")_

"Nei, Ég hef ekki skipað nein þannig skilaboð til að fara um stöður manna minna-" ,_ (__"No, I have ordered no such messages to go around the ranks of my men-")_ Laufey rest his chin on his knuckles and bared his teeth, "Tilgangurinn að segja mér þetta?" , (_"Your point exactly in telling me this?")_

"Ég óskast ekki að komast í ljós svo hratt, en ef þú óskar að málamiðla okkar bestu plön- þarf ég traust ykkar á mér í þessu, þú sagðir mér að allt sé undir stjórn" , _(__"I do not wish to be revealed so quickly, but if you wish to compromise our best laid plans- I need you to trust me on this, you told me everything is under control.")_

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Laufey shook his head and bared his fangs, irritated at the voice of the man in front of him,"Segðu nafn hávaðaseggsins og leyfðu okkur að vera búin með hann." _, ("Say the name of the loud mouth then and let us be done with him.")_

Suddenly the man moved quickly to his side and stabbed the guard on the neck, the same one that escorted him to the Throne Chamber. Howling in pain as the giant was thrown in his death throes, the entire Hall exploded with movement. From every crevice, from every crack, and from every bare ice wall, giants bursts forth brandishing spiked clubs, morning stars, maces, swords and axes made of icicles. They surrounded Laufey and the stranger as the guard lay gurgling his own blood on the floor, his cries of death luring more and more of the frozen guardians into action.

Laughter emanated from Laufey as he looked down at his dead guard, "Svo fljótt, svo skilvirkilega kalt- Segðu mér, Svikari, hvernig býstu við að ég treysti þér ef þú getur svo auðveldlega svikið þitt kin?" , (_"So quickly, so efficiently cold- Tell me, Betrayer, how do you expect me to trust you if you can so easily betray your kin?")_

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"Þau eru ekki mitt kin." , (_"They're not my kin.")_ The man covered his head with the cloak again and turned around, the Giants relaxing around him, "Ég hef talað við hina, undirbúðu allt fljótt, því þegar ég geft merkið. Ég hef líka sent einhvern í sérhvert ríki til að endurheimta Lyklana af Eyðileggendunum." , _(__"I have spoken with the others, prepare quickly for when I give the signal. I have also sent someone in every realm to recover the Keys of the Destroyers.")_

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Laufey sat down his frozen throne and nodded, "Ég samþykki tillögur og skilmála þína, við munum bíða eftir þinni hagstæðilegri endurkomu." , _(__"I accept your proposals and terms, we shall await your favorable return.")_

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With that the stranger left the cold halls and vanished from their sights.

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Berk

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Morning mist filled the air as the fortified town of Berk woke up from another drunken stupor, a rooster crowed from atop of Gothi's house as a Terrible Terror shot a small fireball at it with violent squawking and singed feathers. Light from the sun warmed the lingering cold air as a slight chill settled into the early morning fog. Toothless, although lazy perked his head up as he saw a window creak open from the house all three of them were supposed to be guarding.

A blonde haired girl, in a long flowing mane jumped out and landed with two soft pats on the ground. He watched him from his perch at the second floor posts as he looked down at the already awake Rumblehorn.

Skullcrusher raised his head in indignation as his companion in guard duty swished his tail to cover his already closed eyes, he huffed and pointed with his snout towards the fleeing girl as the Night Fury groaned and looked at him, as if saying, _'What do you want me to do about it?'_

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The Rumblehorn sighed and nudged the black dragon forward, Toothless grumbled but stood up and bounded quickly towards the already gone girl.

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Camicazi ran aimlessly as she headed for the highest point of Berk. So, most of the stories were true at least, with the fortifications, the people, the dragons, even the stories with Hiccup. At least in her opinion, most of them were half-truth and not exaggeration, she can at least see the things that such talents can do for their small tribe. The alliance would also mean a more stable side of their territory, meaning if they get attacked, they have at least a peace of mind near Berk and just concentrate on the undefended frontiers of their seas. However, nature had not called her yet and the impulse to be free and do whatever she wants tugs at her heart and mind.

So, as she reached the lookout where the Horns of Warning are placed she looked on beyond the horizon as the sun finally shone its first rays at her wind-burned smiling face.

Breathing deeply she turned and came face to face with a green eyed black Night Fury, both did a small jump as Toothless also was surprised at the yelping girl in front of him. Silly human. Was it even trying to fly?

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The Bog-Burglar princess grabbed her chest as her heart threatened to leap out, this was Hiccup's mount, what was his name again? Oh, she distinctly remembered him croon at him at the feast as- "Toothless?"

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Toothless big round green eyes looked at her unblinkingly as his ears perked up, like a dog being called by a very interesting person he jiggled and shook his body in excitement as the blonde girl puts her two hands up and approached him slowly, one foot at a time. Without prompting, and with being one of the few that he actually allowed to touch him, the Night Fury tentatively puts his snout on her outstretched palms as she rubbed the tough leather hide on the dragon's chin and cheek.

Warbling in delight, he pressed himself to her as she scratched and scritched every inch of his skin she could reach.

"You like that boy?" she asked giggling as Toothless lets out another happy gurgle, "You big baby boo..."

Her giggling and his sounds of delight made some guards curious as they looked down from their perch from up high where the horns are located. She looked up as she felt their concentrated gaze at her.

"What's up?" she brightly greeted.

"Oh," one young Viking blushed as Camicazi beamed at him, "I- I'm sorry my lady- I was surprised of your presence, good- good morning to you."

"Please, call me Camicazi, good morning to you too- oof!" she almost lost her footing as Toothless nudged her again for another scratching session, "-sorry, I'm speaking with someone- What are you doing up there?"

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"Well, Lady Camicazi, Berk has built a lookout above the great hill that is above our Mead Hall. It's particularly good since the surrounding area of seas and the tides are easily monitored here-"

"-no other higher point can Berk see from afar?"

The younger Viking rubbed his bare chin and said, "Umm- there is of course, Huge Hill... actually, Hiccup said its more of a mountain."

"So, you listen to Hiccup, even though he's not your Chief yet?"

"Of course, we younger ones do! Hiccup will make a great Chief," another young Viking peeked from the outlook and looked down at the Bog-Burglar girl, he was younger and he had a mischievous smile, "When I finally have the rights, then I'll join the Riders of Berk."

Camicazi smiled and gave a small laugh, "-and you are?"

"Oh pardon me, my name is Gustav, Gustav son of _Lars_-" the bigger of the both boys stood up and pulled his younger companion with him, "-and this is Arnar son of_ Benedikk_t, one of the few that will try this year."

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"Really? Try out for what?"

"The Rider Selections of course, although Hiccup was the first Rider of Berk in centuries, since his disappearance Lady Astrid was tasked instead to oversee the Riders, the training Academy, and the selection of new Riders."

With Toothless in tow, she managed to reach the lookout of the two and see an even higher and impressive view of the surrounding lands, including the southern face of the so called, 'Huge Hill' mountain. She looked down and almost gagged at their height, how could the Berkians fly with their dragons, since they could obviously have more dizzying heights to worry about. "So, how do you become a Rider?"

With great gusto Gustav explained the selective criteria, set down by Astrid. She mused that this young woman, might be Shieldmaiden of Berk and she might have missed her in the banquet last night. Regardless, her ears kept open as the eager young boy continued his tale, "-it sure was funny, I almost failed my selection since I picked a very wild Monstrous Nightmare-"

"-you picked a Monstrous Nightmare."

"Sure!" Gustav beat his chest proudly, "Not many choose Nightmares since they are very unpredictable, but he listens to me, and he chews me with more saliva now so it doesn't hurt that much-"

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"HE CHEWS YOU!?" Camicazi stared at him horrified and stalled her scratching.

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"Its better than with Snotlout, his dragon, called Hookfang for obvious reasons, chews him then spits him out-"

"Eww..."

"Its actually their form of endearment," the young Rider said brightly at the disgusted look she gave him, "Nightmares are quite misunderstood of the trainable species, and they can be quite vicious when attacking for real."

"Being called Monstrous Nightmares don't usually evoke images of fluffy, wonderful, and cuddly animals-"

Gustav smiled and shook his head, "Every dragon that we have trained so far has shown its good side only to us, and with that trust comes the trust to carry weapons."

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"What do you mean? The Riders don't carry weapons to battle?"

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"Oh no! The dragons get real edgy with their riders if we carry weapons... the only ones that ride out armed are lets see-" he seemed to ponder for a moment as he looked up at the ceiling as his face brightened in realization, "Astrid, she carries her axe with her sometimes, and Fishlegs too... the Chief, Gobber he's our Blacksmith... sometimes Snotlout if Hookfang is in the mood I guess, and... Ruff and Tuff, considering they don't hit each other first."

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"I see," Camicazi said thoughtfully as she cataloged another information from Berk, "Anyways, when will breakfast be ready I'm kind of starving-" she looked at the Night Fury and gestured eating, "-are you hungry too? Me too! Let's get something to eat."

"You go on ahead, we need to stay here until the change of guards come to us."

With that done, she bounded down the outlook, down the steady slope with Toothless in tow, Gustav sat down on their perch as Arnar said, "She asked a whole deal of questions about Berk huh?"

"Well, she is our ally... so I guess it's ok."

"Shall we tell Lugnut?" the boy nodded as they both smiled and whistled for a Terrible Terror from their roost up high on Gothi's Hut.

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Hiccup stretched his arms, this early morning exercise is doing wonders for his hangover. Which means, absolutely nothing since the head splitting ache still lingers for a Gods-awful amount of time. He wished he could skip this, but his father and Astrid's father Bjornn insisted with this early morning exercise, first because they are genuinely worried about his duel, second, since they seemed to have decided something stupid again last night at the council chambers. Regardless, it was quite a surprise to find Bjornn himself standing at his doorstep with the sun still behind the horizon already demanding he wakes up and follow him to the arena.

As soon as they got there, his armor still a bit askew, his hair still without braids and experiencing what we all like to call bed hair, saw that Astrid was already there as he cursed for not even taking a cup of water to rinse his morning breath. Rubbing the sands of sleep from his eyes he looked on as Bjornn dragged her daughter, armed her with a shield and her wooden training axe and positioned her behind him.

"Now, I wish to see how much you have truly improved."

He was now confused, irritated, and a little bit embarrassed by his... disheveled appearance, "What!?"

"Prepare yourself!" with a great heave, he pushed his daughter towards him and shouted, "Charge Astrid!"

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With her shrill war cry, the blonde blue eyed girl charged at him in a blink of an eye, shields raised and axe held high with murder in her eyes, his eyes widened as he quickly stood rod straight and shifted to the side where Astrid held her shield as she passed by him harmlessly in her bloodless charge. Bjornn's face held confusion, they underestimated his skills immensely, such calm and half-conscious still from his slumber yet he did not miss a beat as he perfectly got out of the way of a charging Valkyrie. He looked on as his daughter spun herself and charged again, only this time her axe was behind her shield hiding the striking position from his view. Unexpectedly, he puts his arms together in a bracing maneuver as she connects to him and he saw that his hands were actually open and grabbed the top of the shield.

Sensing victory, Astrid raised the axe on her side and begun to swing it towards Hiccup, but cunningly as he grabs the top of the shield he also pulls it down, faking a trip with his prosthetic, effectively deflecting the vicious axe swipe she made at him, and wrenching the protection of the shield from her as he rolled and dragged the wooden shield with him.

Now, this is a treat.

Never did he imagine that the boy, could be so cunning while fighting. While showing boredom and sleepiness, he was actually making his opponent complacent of him. Showing no aggression, only confusing moves, that during the heat of battle could be lost in the translation of body language and movements. Plus, he's an amputee... obviously, they all made the mistake of underestimating him. Astrid was agitated and losing focus by the minute as Hiccup was calm as a first day of snow in winter, with the shield in his hands his daughter charged with much force that as she began a downward swing he saw Hiccup's eyes flash a look that's familiar to him and saw the edge of the wooden axe perfectly intercepted by the young man with the top end of the shield, he twisted it a little and wrenched the axe flying away from Astrid's shaken hands.

He also saw him, deftly put out his prosthetic leg in front of the girl's path, tripping her in the process. As she begins her fall, he grabs her left elbow wrenches her back to him as he faked losing his balance with the shield and axe spinning in different directions.

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She landed perfectly on top of him, with their foreheads hitting lightly, their noses pressing and their eyes meeting in unison, perfectly coordinated, perfectly timed, and perfectly blushing at each other.

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It was a dance that Bjornn have not had the pleasure of seeing before, the boy was ten steps ahead of Astrid. He knew when to disarm her, when to take away the shield, when to cripple her offense by locking the blade of the axe at the blunt of the shield, and when to- is he about to- are they about to right in front of him- !

"Er-hem!" he coughed loudly as Astrid and Hiccup jumped apart as if burned and looking very embarrassed at their compromising position. She was not sure what happened, but one time she was attacking, then was disarmed, then her axe came flying, and she came tumbling down- down right in front of him. Which, seems pretty odd since she did trip on his prosthetic so technically she tripped him- oh its so confusing!

Dusting herself off, her bindings and armor shaken at the contact and obvious draw, "You got lucky," she managed to blurt out.

"I- I guess," he also dusted himself off as Bjornn approached them both. He could feel the heat of the man's gaze as he saw him put two practice swords in his hands. "Umm..."

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"You will now dance with me boy."

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Hiccup took the two wooden swords and looked at Astrid's father, sure it was unfair to play with her like that, but he couldn't help it. He wanted to feel her close, but she still seemed withdrawn, or a wall seemed to keep him from her, or her from him. Whatever way you prefer, it seems something is still not clear or not even sure between them for their friendship, which he is also thankful of course, to even transcend further into-

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"HRAHH!" the older Viking swung his large two handed sword at Hiccup as the two practice swords found its way into both of his hands, "Stay back lass!"

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Astrid walked to the side as her father grits his teeth and makes a large sweeping side slash towards Hiccup, his great weapon although wooden can still deal a lot of damage to anyone it will hit, but instead of ducking out of the way, the boy puts a sword in front of him, and as he was pushed by the force of the hit he rode the slash from the big weapon and easily spun in his position using his amputated leg as a pivot. Bjornn's eyes could not believe the audacity and bravery of this young man, he had killed his first dragon at fourteen, he was an experienced fighter, a warrior born of necessity, slayer of both dragon and men. With his great sword, he slew Nightmares with one swing of his giant blade, but this child in his eyes, simply rode the force he exuded and he can see, that with his own force he will now-

The first sword that Hiccup used to ride the force of Bjornn's sword swing pointed outwards where the edge of the giant sword is effectively deflecting it and pushing it away, while the second practice sword was deftly aimed at his enemies throat. If they were using real ones, Astrid's father would be breathing through his throat as Hiccup puts his left arm back a little holding back at the last second, the great weapon that was swung at him was now pointed to the side. A deadly opening in a split second clashing of wooden blades, that even Astrid and Bjornn were quite surprised about.

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Bjornn laughed as he straightened up burying the large practice sword at the ground, "I yield."

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She couldn't believe it, this morning his father woke her up, made her dress in her armor and finest furs and dragged her to the arena. He said it would be for the village, and of course, being the Shield maiden of Berk she relented. Imagine her surprise when Hiccup showed up, still half-asleep and disheveled appearance notwithstanding, and suddenly it escalated from there. Her training made her charge at her father's barked orders, then she was disarmed, then they were blushing, and now his father, one of the greatest swordsmen of Berk, bested by Hiccup.

Can this day get any weirder for her?

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Bjornn turned to her and smiled sweetly, she just had to ask for it huh?

"I approve of him, my daughter."

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"Approve of what!?" she asked alarmed, "Approve of what EXACTLY!?"

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Although still blushing, she allowed her laughing father to pat her in the back and led her back to the Mead Hall for some breakfast leaving Hiccup in the arena. Confused and still irritated, he sighed deeply and followed in their wake.

Can this day get any weirder for him?

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Marching back to the Mead Hall, they saw the Bog-Burglars already inside since most of the Berkians are already filing out. Booze is currently not being served as the whole village began to wake itself up. The forge, already alive with its chimney smoking and the distant clang of hammer on anvil means that Gobber is already at work. They walked up to the steps of the Hall and saw Camicazi running in breakneck speed inside, followed by a bounding black dragon.

Astrid looked at Hiccup pointedly and squared her shoulders away from him. He sighed as he remembered the conversation last night, and the murderous aura that he felt bloomed from her direction. He looked at Bjornn and he was calmly walking ahead of them and he whispered, "Your not mad are you?"

"Why would I be mad?" she grits her teeth and squints her eyes at him, "My father is acting weird, and you are not helping the situation."

"But I'm not doing anything!" he hissed defensively as the girl stopped and looked pointedly at him, "-seriously, I'm not doing anything to aggravate-"

A finger stopped him as Astrid visibly bristled at him, "Let me tell you one thing Hiccup, I may have liked you, like you- but that doesn't mean you can twirl me dance around your fingers, just like what you try to do with our 'guests'."

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"I am not, please listen to me. I was just being polite," Hiccup insisted, "-and its the truth, me being male, she's attractive to my eyes. I would be lying and insulting our guests... but Astrid she does not have my heart. I already told you who has taken it-"

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"Stop- You-" she stopped as she visibly debated his words in her mind, "y- you be careful what you say to other people!"

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She stormed off again as her father made it finally inside the Mead Hall, Hiccup lowers his head and sighed. He ran the rest of the steps following the Hoffersons for a bite of breakfast. Inside the Hall, Hiccup ran over to his waving father as Lugnut was finishing his report to the Chief.

"-its pretty suspicious if you ask me."

"I'll give it some thought, come back to me later," Stoick nodded as Lugnut gave the Chief a bow, and gave the son a friendly grin, "Ah! How was your practice session with Bjornn today?"

Hiccup sat and sighed, "Did you put him up to it?"

"I just wanted to make sure that you can uphold Berk's honor in front of our guests, and I'm pretty sure you can win against your cousin-"

"One should not underestimate one's enemy," the young man took a piece of bread and puts fermented cheese on top, he took a bite and washed it down with some cold water, "-although I do not doubt my skills, Snotlout can be quite tenacious."

"I'm not worried about him."

"What are you worried about then?"

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"See that woman over there?" the Chief pointed to the Bog-Burglar group and saw a tall young woman, with red hair braided, her body covered with chain armor, and carrying a large two handed German Zweihander sword. Hiccup nodded as Stoick got back to his sheep stew, "Well, after your duel with your cousin. They wish to fight for your hand in marriage-"

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"WHAT!?"

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All eyes turned to father and son as Hiccup calmed down and sat back down again, "W- why would they do that? I mean- why would you let them do that!?"

"Son, our people have just won peace in our lands, years of mysteriously fighting with Drago, raids, and problems, now we have a moment of peace thanks to you of course and to the Gods," Stoick puts and arm on his son's shoulder and pulls him close to his ear, "Please, I am asking you- give me this selfish request, as your father and your Chief that although it is only for games, much is at stake for this. Berk, is so rich and powerful right now that all of our neighbors can make a coalition and fight us... but starting with the Bog-Burglars, we can make that coalition with us first and keep peace in the whole Archipelago."

The Chief sighed as he looked around, while his son began eating, "I am getting old son, and centuries of raids, deaths, and so many losses abound in the life of us Vikings. I have no doubts that you can win, and winning is what we need here right now. I don't want to lose you or give you away, I want you here with me, beside me... the Gods have taken you and nurtured you, and gave you things I can never ever hope to give you-"

"-dad..." he blushed as his father looked vulnerable in front of him.

"No- no, let me finish," Stoick turned to his son and smiled, "You have certainly grown up if you make those decisions for yourself, but I also don't want to marry you off- especially if you don't want to."

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"Ok dad," Hiccup's eyes hardened and nodded, "I'll give them what they asks for."

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Meanwhile at the Bog-Burglars table, Kalina, Camicazi and Bertha sat in one corner as they surveyed the opposition on the other corner.

"So, what did you find out daughter?"

The young blonde wild haired girl shrugged and smiled, "It's quite easy to get outside and walk around, I also found a great deal of things with Berk. They can see beyond the horizon from the top of their Lookout, but the Southern shores are vulnerable for a landing if you can brave the sea stacks. Their dragons are very smart, however most of the riders are unarmed and if you take down the dragon, well you take down its riders too."

"Anything else about their military?"

Kalina interjected and took a bite out of the turkey leg she was eating, "Their forge works are the most advanced that I have ever seen, I spoke with their blacksmith and his tongue loosened with a few tankards of mead. He constantly exalts the Heir of Berk-"

"Hiccup?"

The Champion of the Bog-Burglars nodded, "Their advances in their forge works, and their proposed architectures are all under Hiccup's decrees... plus, the wealth that they have right now from their victory against Drago cannot be denied."

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"That madman raided the whole northern and western regions and the Land of the Skaerlings, they were pushing towards the Celtic Seas if it weren't for Berk stopping them," Bertha sighed and looked at the Heir from across the other table, "What about his abilities? Can you really defeat him Kalina?"

"No man bested me before," Kalina, her red hair braided in big twists as she patted her Zweihander, "My sword will be enough for him-"

"Careful Kalina," Camicazi whispered as she puts her head on her mother's broad shoulders, "All the men fear him, as if you were fighting with a creature so skilled it looks almost inhuman."

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"Have you confirmed if the stories were true?"

The Bog-Burglar Heir nodded, "From the rider that met us, from the Outlook guards, even from the Viking I spoke with at the feast last night. It is imperative we take him as my husband Kalina, if you lose, we will demand he fight me for equal rights as both Heir of Chiefdom of Viking tribes."

"And if he refuse?"

Bertha grinned darkly, "Well, the other tribes are waiting for our answer... we could always force their hand."

"The Uglithugs? The Berserkers?"

"The Berserkers are no more," the Chieftess sighed and turned her attention to her ornate spear, "With the death of Dagur the Deranged we can expand our own power base since their loss has created a power vacuum that Berk is quickly filling, together with the territories of Drago, their own influence and wealth will expand exponentially. We must ride this wave of advancement or we shall be caught in its wake and be swept aside."

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"But still the Uglithugs?"

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"If the Berkians fail to be amicable, we have no choice- we are a small tribe and these times call for desperate measures."

"Maybe we can remain neutral?"

"I am sorry my daughter if you feel like I am forcing you to commit yourself at such a young age, but we have no time to discuss this further-" Bertha stood up, her great girth and large breast swaying as the Horn for the midday sun sounded. They saw both Hiccup and Stoick standing up and walking out of the Mead Hall, they followed and saw them heading for the Dragon Arena where the scheduled duel with Snotlout was supposed to happen this day. "-the time for sword clashings are now."

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Hidden out of their sight, a green with reddish-brown highlights Terrible Terror licked its eyeballs as it carefully scrutinized their group. As they walked away, the small dragon flapped its small wings and fluttered quickly towards the dragon arena. Landing on a piece of wooden balustrade it quickly crawled inside one of the many small holes, that most Terrors use as an easy access inside the arena. Making its way to the top tier it slowly approached a black dragon, snoozing on the feet of an amputated young man as his father looked down catching the rider's attention. Hiccup turned and smiled down at the Terror, picking it up against the hissing of Toothless.

"You can't seriously be jealous of Sharpshot?" Hiccup raised his eyebrow and smiled wryly, "Come on Toothless, you know I can't fly with him so why even bother to be-"

He stopped as he looked into the eyes of the Terrible Terror and opened his mouth in silent frustration. Sensing his distress, Stoick puts a hand on his shoulder and gave a small nod, "What's wrong Hiccup?"

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With the Terrible Terror balanced on his arm, Hiccup held it with his ring glowing slightly, his green colored eyes turned dragon yellow and he shook his head in disbelief.

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"We have a problem with the Bog-Burglars."

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**To be continued... **

**Author's note:**

I thank you for the motivation you have renewed in me. I just love talking to my reviewers! (^_^)

Please, do review since it motivates me to write these chapters more quickly. I wish you could spur me on faster!

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Cheers everyone,

Scarabeye3000

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	9. Chapter 9

**Reviews as of 1/6/15:**

Mark (Guest) : Hiccup is still human, he is still Midgardian, because it is essential in my point of view for him to remain human amidst all his special skills.

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Guest #2 : Y I do this? Y not!? I'm the author and I love doing it! I'll try to make a faster update, I don't want to compromise my writing. I want it to be a good read for you and your fellow readers.

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killerbull27 (Guest) : Thank you for the review! :D

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**All signed reviews are replied in Private Messaging, except when you request to be shown.**

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**Disclaimer: Any characters mentioned are all under copyright. This work is purely fan-made.**

**Title: From Asgard to Midgard**

**Author: Scarabeye 3000**

**Chapter 9: **_**'Fly like a butterfly, sting like a- A BLOODY DRAGON!'**_

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Berk

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"Hiccup!" Stoick held his son's shoulder as Sharpshot squirmed away from the Heir, "Hiccup! Are you alright? What's happening- your eyes!"

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"Calm down dad," Hiccup released Sharpshot and his eyes returned their normal greenish hue, his father held his cheeks in his hands and wiped each of his eyes with a calloused thumb. "It's an ability my master taught me."

"But- how- who? Why?"

"I'll tell you another time, we have more pressing matters right now," he puts a reassuring hand on his father's shoulder and the older man visibly calmed, "Father, the Bog-Burglars I believe are being forced into a Coalition- the other Viking tribes have heard of our victory against Drago and is forming a coalition against us."

"How did you know this!?" his father's astonished face filled his eyes, "They asked for peace and- I see now."

Hiccup's eyebrow raised as Stoick released him and paced the top tier where the Chief and his Lieutenants are given a special space in the Arena. The Chief sat down deep in thought, his son approached and stood beside him, suddenly his father looked at him with a full gaze and sighed. "So, I was right- they wanted you all along."

Stoick stood up and looked around as he saw the Bog-Burglars entering the arena, they were an organized lot, the Champion would enter first, then the Vanguard, then their Chieftess, then the Heir, followed by their rank and file guards. But he noticed one thing they all did in synch, as soon as they entered all eyes swept the arena, some looked up and down, others looked at the construction, others seemed to linger innocently, but he caught some look up directly at their perch and keep the gaze fixed where Hiccup sat. He turned back to his son with a grim stare, "What else did you find out son?"

"-the Bog-Burglars are being pushed into the Coalitions, but the Uglithugs and the Meatheads seem to be pressuring them."

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"I should have known," Stoick sighed and sat down tiredly, "Alliance is such a double bladed sword, to both the trusting and the trusted- anything else you have to say son?"

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"We still have time father, if they fail to get me-"

"-which they will fail of course."

"Right, ok, then Camicazi would enter and demand a fair fight with me, if she wins we both know what will happen- if I win-" he stopped and looked stumped at his father, "I- I don't even have an idea what will happen if I win this stupid game-"

"So, if they want a fair fight between you and her then their only choice is to do a _holmgang-"_

His son looked at him puzzled, "I haven't heard of that before."

The Chief shook his head and rubbed his great beard, "It is an old ritual duel between two combatants of equal or sometimes non-equal status, for both Camicazi and you, the title of Heir of Chiefdom puts you both in high regards, therefore eligible for an honored _holmgang, _that would take place probably in an island of their choosing. It's complicated, we will discuss further about holmgangs if it comes down to that. For now, the duel with your cousin comes first, go on my son, make me prouder of you."

Hiccup obediently nods and rushes down to the armory just below two floors near the entrance gate of the arena , his father settled in his seat as Bjornn and Lugnut stood behind him, Spitelout took a seat on the left side of Stoick just below the elevated platform the Chief's seat is perched at.

"You were right Lugnut, the Bog-Burglars are planning something, but to what end we do not know yet."

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"We should have sunk their ships in the bay-" Ruff and Tuff's father hissed as he threw a scathing look at the Bog-Burglars sitting just a few tiers below them.

"-or we can just send them your children Lug."

Lugnut nodded and gave a naughty grin, "That's actually a good idea."

.

"Do we even know their motives my Chief?" Bjornn interjected as the horns sounded, signaling the beginning rituals of the duel, "They don't just bring their ruling class at Berk just to attack it later, it seems they haggled too hard then they would just turn and raid us."

.

They all saw Gobber into the middle of the arena and began to expound on the reasons why the duel is even taking place. A misunderstanding between cousins, a pride wounded by a few words, an honor to be satisfied, all things that must be said before the bleeding can proceed.

"I know, it's very inconsistent with the protocols for an alliance, regardless, the Bog-Burglars are known for their burglary skills and their- yak shit! That's it!" Astrid's father slapped his forehead as realization dawned on him, Stoick and the rest looked at him as if he was possessed and had grown an extra head.

"What do you mean 'that's it?"

"-think about it, if all goes well, then they have Hiccup married to Camicazi and the blanket of security that Berk will provide with him, if they don't succeed with that, they can go to the Coalition formed by the Uglithugs and Meatheads, and provide them with information garnered from their first hand experience here."

Stoick, Spitelout and Lugnut's mouth all hung open as the plot unfolded before them, "Damnation! They're not obviously honoring the truce, and the terms of the alliance by going behind our back. We must Blood Eagle them as an example to others by their treacherous notion towards Berk!" Spitelout banged on his arm chair and his muscles visibly shook from concealed rage.

"Blood eagle? That's your bright idea?"

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"I don't see you making any coherent suggestions Bjornn," Spitelout sneered, "Just speculations and all talk- this is a time of action."

The addressed man bristled and was about to approach his offender when Stoick looked up and saw his son stepped out into the ring, he had made a decision, he would listen to his son, value the time he has left with him and perhaps, be a good father upon which he so richly deserved.

"No, we will wait for my son's decision-" the Lieutenant's silenced as their Chief stood up and began to clap as his son was introduced, "-my son knows what he is doing. Trust him."

.

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_"I have no idea what I'm doing here..." _Hiccup mused to himself as he blushed from the roots of his hair to the tip of his toes, never did he expect that such a spectacle, no thanks to his cousin of course, would attract the whole island of Berk. Given, that the additional people that have joined the Chiefdom of Berk and settled here have filled the arena, but most old faces he could see cheered for him. He was never used to their gaze, to their stares, even in Asgard he never craved their attention. Only their approval, his master's approval, which he so lavishly given.

He looked up into the stands and saw in the raised pedestal his father discussing in whispered tones with Spitelout, Lugnut and Bjornn.

No doubt discussing about what he just had told his father, thankfully, none will be said of his unique abilities he displayed in front of his father. Gobber, excitedly raised his prosthetic hand towards him and began to introduce him, "On this side, we have Hiccup, son of Stoick, Chief of Berk. The first human to ride a dragon in 300 years!"

Armed with his two Asgardian blades, aptly named _Agni _and _Rudra_, both forged in Asgard and given magical properties for one to resist the enemy, the other to smite it down. His armor, painstakingly made from brass scales interwoven together to form a seamless, almost dragon like carapace to compliment his green colored finery, with brass shins and cross guards with the thinnest leather gloves one could carry. It allowed him maximum movement, with the utmost protection from his adversities.

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Thunderous applause reached his ears as another gate, exactly adjacent of him opened and out came his source of renewed misery.

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Snotlout, armed with his best leather armor, strode inside the arena in the midst of the cheering crowd. Armed with his trusty spiked mace, and wooden shield emblazoned with the crest of Berk, he walked upright, with confidence and most dangerously, without fear or uncertainty. In the times of his disappearance, his cousin definitely changed for the better. Obviously, still full of himself since they wouldn't even be inside the arena if he would have learned to listen, he saw now that in some aspects, Snotlout had changed.

Gone was the uncertainty and the overbearing confidence, his eyes, while insulting and condescending that afternoon has lost all traces of that naivety. Truly, they share the same blood, albeit less than half, but still cousins in their eyes and in their parent's eyes. The burly young man's eyes focused on Hiccup, like a Nightmare trying to intimidate its prey, his back was hunched, his muscles almost popping from his leather bindings, in a match of strength he would definitely lose against his cousin.

"On this side then," Gobber's loud voice carried over to the stands as the crowd renewed cheering brought forth the revelry to a crescendo, "-the challenger! Snotlout, son of Spitelout, second in command of our Chieftain!"

He raised his mace in acknowledgement as Hiccup remained rooted to the ground, his prosthetic digging deeper to the hard ground as he tested the stability of his false leg.

.

"The rules are as follows, since both being of noble born and have such great importance to Berk, both shall not be allowed to deal a killing blow-!" the blacksmith raised a second finger and continued, "Second! The duelers will be given three blood hits! Anything more is considered a violation, and a reneging in the terms of the duel. Third! No help- especially with dragons, may be permitted and no limits on weapons that can be used." Gobber opened his hands and gestured for the two of them to approach him and they do so, "Both combatants may yield even if they have not satisfied their three blood hits! "

.

People nodded their head as they agreed to the rules, satisfying honor is one thing, but losing one's life to satisfy it, especially someone so precious as Berk's greatest fighters is a grand folly to any tribe or people.

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Gobber stepped away and nodded to Lugnut who finally hits the large gong behind Stoick's seat, it's sound reverberating through the whole Dragon Arena.

"BEGIN!"

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"I see you haven't run away yet Hic- I'm really surprised you managed to shook off your_ 'Useless'_ epitaph."

"Why don't we just stop?" Hiccup also leveled with his adversary and began to move to the right, "I'm not really thrilled to fight you."

The larger Viking grinned and raised his mace at him threateningly, "You haven't drawn your sword, giving up already dear cousin?"

"It was never a battle to begin with," they circled each other as the Heir shrugged his shoulders and sighed, "This is just a waste of time." , _'I have the Bog-Burglars to deal with too!'_

"I'm a waste of time now? Heh! You have insulted me further with your words Hiccup, I'll make sure to break your 'other' leg this time," Snotlout began to move to the right twirling his weapon and carefully circling Hiccup as he toyed with the hilt of his twin short swords, "Are you sure those _toothpicks_ can even hurt me like you said you would? It looks like I'm going to break those damn things-"

"Why don't you give me a clean shot of your chest and we'll see-" he ducked as the larger Viking took a tentative swipe at him which he easily eluded, "-was that it cousin, it seems you've grown slower with your size. Getting old too is such a-"

"HRRAAHHH! I'll stomp your face with my fist- you mangy cur!" Snotlout's face turned red as he charged blindly towards Hiccup. Expecting the charge, everybody gasped at what he did, because instead of shielding himself or running away, the smaller of the two also charged at him head on. They were even more astonished as the mace came down for a bashing swing, the Heir of Berk simply gripped his sword. The knuckles on his hand turning white as he grasped the handle tightly, drawing it quickly from its sheath, he then aimed the underside of his sword's hilt to the base of his cousin's weapon effectively deflecting the attack, his other hand simultaneously drew the other one and with extreme control and precision, ran the blade through one of the small slits in between Snotlout's shield, hitting him squarely in the upper arm, blood sprayed out from his puncture wound as pain wracked the whole left side of his body.

_'Odin's beard! Shit!' _Snotlout cursed under his breath, _'It freaking hurts!'_

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"Hiccup has _First Blood!_"

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The crowd cheered all around them, egging them on as the smaller of the two retracted his sword from the damaged shield and both fighters stepped away from each other for a little respite.

"Do you still harbor doubts about my '_toothpicks' _cousin?" Hiccup asked coyly.

The addressed young man simmered, but kept his temper in check, "You're an asshole dear cousin!"

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Snotlout tied a piece of cloth to stop the flow of blood on his wound and quickly took his damaged shield from the ground, immediately they began circling each other once more, both fighters eyeing the other warily, their gazes never wandering far.

"You got lucky that time."

The Heir smiled and licked his lips, "I'm pretty sure that's not just luck, your losing focus Snotlout-"

"Don't tell me what to do!" he retaliated pointedly, "You think you can just come in here and be the hero? That's good and nice, and I have sure asked forgiveness for what I used to do to-"

"No, you didn't asked forgiveness yet-"

"-shut up!" he shouted as Hiccup kept smiling at him, "I was about to court Astrid you dummy, and now your here- how in Hel am I supposed to do that with you around!?"

.

"Wait, don't tell me this is about Astrid!?" the duel stalled as he stood up straight, color draining from his face, "-your fighting me because you like her too?"

Snotlout grinned and huffed, blushing a bit, "Sure! I mean, look at her- with that kind of face, those swaying hips and perfect body to boot. Why wouldn't I? She's the perfect girl for me and we were getting on nicely until you came back again."

Now the tables were turned, it was Hiccup that seemed to lose focus, he resheated his sword while shaking his head in disbelief and eyed Snotlout with a different eye, "Tell me Snotlout, is this an emotional thing- or just an itch."

His cousin saw his chance to do some damage and said, "Probably just an itch- I mean look at that nice piece of Viking ass waiting at the stands- can't really wait to sink my teeth into-"

Hiccup came suddenly charging at him, running full pelt as if he still possessed both his legs, his eyes were wide with controlled rage and fury as he ran to his cousin head first and with no indication of stopping or control. The larger of the two was surprised at the situation, with blinding speed he was upon him so quickly like a familiar Night Fury. Quickly doing a double draw of his twin swords, he smashed the two swords parallel to Snotlout's shield. Their weapons connecting with a loud crash and bang, with the bigger Viking prepared for the assault, he easily braced his weapon in front of his shield and squared his shoulders at the charging young man. Easily outweighing Hiccup by probably twice of his own weight, they collided with one another as they met head on and smashed each other into the furious charge. Surprisingly he grinned at his smaller cousin, with this distance and the both of them pushing against each other, his swords embedded into the wooden shield, how could he evade a point blank swing from his mace.

Tasting a victorious hit, he raised himself to full height and was about to prepare for a side swing when he felt he couldn't even move his weapon. Too late to notice that the charge made by Hiccup was another feint, he finally saw the mistake of bracing his weapon to his wooden shield. Hiccup in a mask of blind fury used his momentum to bury one of his short sword again to the edge of his shield, trapping the shaft of his mace and leaving Hiccup's other sword free to-

Blood spurted from his right hip as Hiccup quickly capitalized from the confusion and mistake his cousin just found himself into easily poking him with his free sword.

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"Hiccup gets _Second Blood_!" Gobber shouted himself hoarse as the arena thundered and shook with the crowd's cheers and applause.

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As the crowd egged them on, Hiccup seemed oblivious to it all, he was burning with righteous fury, "You asshole! I can't believe you were thinking about Astrid like that! She's an honorable young woman and I ought to-"

"Relax, your ranting Hiccup," Snotlout breathed heavily as they circled each other again after tying another piece of cloth on his right hip. "You really like her, like her... right?"

He nodded as the larger of the two relaxed and pointed his weapons down, "Well, at least that's clear-" he suddenly swung at Hiccup and caught him off-guard at his left side. The spikes from the mace embedded themselves at his upper arm as he screamed in pain. With his skin raked and bleeding, the Heir stepped away as his cousin made no move to follow him. That asshole practically disarmed him with words, he had grown careless and confused because he lowered his guard around him, because they were talking about her, and they are obviously not playing here unlike when they were kids.

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"Snotlout takes his _First Blood!"_

_._

Remembering that his cousin still has the same blood as he, almost the same capacity for subterfuge he realized that he must always be calm, and in truth his cousin is really skilled if he would just concentrate at the task at hand and just forgetting that the world is not as big as his head. So, he re-sheaths his twin swords and pinched the round wounds with his fingers for a few seconds, he looks at Snotlout again and sees his cousin like never before. His eyes were clear, they looked like his, and their depths held something- a seriousness in them that he didn't know his relative was even capable of.

"Hiccup, I want you to take me seriously for now-" his cousin's voice was like a whisper, but the message was pretty clear and it rang loud from all the voices clamoring for some more steel and blood, "I want you to swear, that whoever wins in this duel- wins Astrid."

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"W- what!?" his mouth dropped open and he was honestly not expecting that.

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"Cousin, I apologize for my past behaviors... there its out in the open, now listen-" Snotlout's eyes held his as it shone with an inner strength his cousin is suddenly showing to him, "-fight me with all of your strength. All your skill, don't toy with me!"

"-but I'm not-"

"Shut up!" the larger Vikings voice sounded hard in the midst of the riotous cheering and heckling, "Fight me Hiccup! Show your skill! So that no one will question you- and that my soul would know peace that Astrid belonged to a much better man. Now show me your skill cousin, give me what I ask and I shall be satisfied!"

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As he began to approach Hiccup, Snotlout grips his spiked mace tighter, he remembers his wrong deeds when they were still whelps, then in their teen years all the hits and bruises he had, he gladly imparted it to him without feelings of guilt or remorse, all his shortcomings in the dragon arena, in his life, everything was because he was the cousin of Hiccup Haddock. Because he was next in line to a Chiefdom he didn't even want. So when he came back, he was very much relieved, and with that relief came the thought of being inadequate. As a villager, as a potential leader of his people, an inadequacy that grinds him from the inside, culminating in a careless duel that they're currently satisfying as of late. Inadequate too since, being second place never did sit well with his father, as a child he was taught every single time to hate him, to make him look bad, to make him useless in the eyes of the other people.

But, after all that, at the end of the day he never did feel it in his heart, he never could anyway, deep inside he knew he was like him. Smart, funny, and have an inner strength to have their own identity.

They even shared the liking for the same girl, but he knew her attention was only for him now. He wasn't blind, he wasn't even as thick as they thought him to be. He's just a great pretender, but now all the pretending will stop, they're already nearing the height of their lives and what has he got to show for himself. Nothing, absolutely nothing, and that battle with Drago was a big eye-opener for him. In the duration of the battle, a heavy feeling in his gut made him think that, he's not such a perfect Viking after all.

He was afraid, afraid to lose, afraid to see his own weakness unfold before him, he was afraid to even die for Astrid. It is this fear that crippled him and he just shook it off and blamed Hiccup again, the others or anything else that might come his way. He pretended he wasn't afraid and that teared him up inside, the obvious lies and fake pride he puts out in front of everyone. Snotlout stopped the tears about to burst forth as he neared Hiccup, his eyes hidden as he looked on the ground.

He had been held back enough all his life by his pretending and roundabout lying to himself that it has to stop, and the only way to stop it is to confront Hiccup. Looking like a fool, brave, or anything else they might say... against such a skilled and mighty adversary, he wouldn't mind losing now, and frankly, now that its come to this, he actually didn't care anymore.

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Be brave, he could almost hear his dead mother say.

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Well, too late to back out now. He huffed, his muscles bulging and veins showing as he raised the heavy spiked mace above his head, crashing it down to Hiccup as he came within striking distance of the weapon.

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His weapon caught air as Hiccup vanished in a cloud of dark smoke that suddenly billowed under his cousin's armor, Snotlout stood up straight, shocked and dumb-founded. He was right here a second ago, then- poof! he's nowhere to be-

"AAAHHH!"

The audience gasped as the large Viking screamed in pain, red blood splashing upwards as a shining red blade materialized where Hiccup used to stand, it spun as if held by somebody and it clipped Snotlout's armor, piercing the hard leather armor and shredding it, slicing it like it was made from churned butter. The cut extended from his stomach going up to his right shoulder, the red blade reached the apex of its hit as another one, a blue colored one spun after it in a different angle and arc, and looks as if held again by somebody. The blue and red blades spun with blinding speeds as a humanoid blur appeared in the middle of them while Snotlout is shredded by his adversary. Materializing slowly as if coming out of the smoke he exuded, Hiccup jumped and spun in mid-air suspended by his momentum as he aimed the blades again towards his cousin. The sound of pain from Snotlout and metal clanging was simply too much as some spectators looked away as the Heir seemed to butcher his cousin.

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"STOP HICCUP!" Gobber shouted over the shouting and clamoring crowd, he ran towards the middle as the bloody spectacle finally stopped, "STOP! You've won already! Don't KILL him boy!"

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Landing as he spun in place, Hiccup clanged his twin short swords together and quickly re-sheaths them. Snotlout, landed flat on his back in the ground, his shield damaged beyond repair, his weapon's shaft cracked, his leather armor shredded and unusable, while blood trickled down from his two major wounds. The blacksmith quickly reached him and attended to him, as he looked at him, he sighed deeply as Snotlout breathed normally by himself, "You gave us a scare boy-"

Other Vikings rushed to the arena to take care of the fallen as they assessed his damage. Although in serious pain, he was outside of danger since his wounds are mostly superficial, the worst of them were the two deep cuts running from his stomach up to his right shoulder and another from his right chest to his left upper arm. Bandages were produced as a stretcher was also brought forth, Hiccup approached Snotlout and kneels down to him. Opening his eyes a bit, he grits his teeth as he saw his victorious cousin peering down on him, "I guess you win Hic-"

"Yeah, I guess I did-" Hiccup bit his lip and asked, "So- uh- are you satisfied?"

The larger Viking closed his eyes and nodded without speaking, he coughed and his wounds opened again wracking his body in excruciating pain, "Hiccup, I have to tell you something."

"What is it?"

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He didn't answer, but he gestured for him to kneel closer, with his face dangling above Snotlout's he finally whispered, "I leave Astrid to you- don't hurt her, or I'll break your nose-"

"-of course, I won't... I'll die before that happens," he smiled a genuine smile at him and was about to stand up when a hand caught him, "Oh! One more thing Hiccup-"

Hiccup's back was in front of Gobber as the blacksmith approached the two cousins, suddenly Hiccup yelped in pain and backed away from Snotlout. He was clutching his eyes and was sputtering curses to his vanquished foe, dropping to the ground and rolling around while shouting expletives at him, "Oh! If you weren't already wounded I'll drive my swords through your head- you miserable sack of muck! Ow! MY EYES! You POKED me you jerk!"

"What's wrong Hiccup!? What happened?"

With a miserable face, and red-teary eyes, the young man pointed to Snotlout accusingly, "That scum poked me in the EYE!?"

The blacksmith looked down at the bleeding cousin and saw that his eyes were already closed, his middle finger and pointing finger were raised and as he was taken away by the two Viking medics, a toothy grin appeared on his lips as soft laughter can be heard in the middle of Hiccup's cursing.

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Laughing a little, he pats Hiccup on the back and raised his head to the crowd, "YOUR WINNER! HICCUP HADDOCK the 3rd!"

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More cheers were given, clapping and sounds of merry-making as he was presented to the crowd. Even Stoick stood up from his chair to clap at him, exclaiming words of praises and slapping Spitelout in the back. "Don't fret Spitelout, your boy was amazing he was still alive after what Hiccup did."

"I know," the black haired Viking Lieutenant gave a small grin, his signature scowl never leaving his face, "We Jorgensons never feel fear."

From where they sat, the other Riders of Berk stood and pumped their fist into the air, it was spectacular to watch Hiccup fight. No wonder, Astrid said to herself, whatever I did this morning was never enough. The skill and control he showed us today is a sound proof of his training, skill and abilities. She couldn't even imagine the damage he could have done if he were hitting Snotlout to kill. Still, breathing is better than dead, and she was surprised to know that even if the larger cousin seemed very much hurt and his wounds were life-threatening, it was deemed safe to put him in a stretcher with Mulch and Bucket, to be taken to the healers, meaning his life is not in danger. Just, royally banged-up and wounded lavishly, albeit almost all superficial.

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On the Bog-Burglar side, everyone also cheered, to have such a husband for their Princess was definitely a treat. However, Bertha, Camicazi and Kalina were silent, the Chieftess and her daughter looked at their Champion and asked, "Did you see that Kalina? Can you counter it?"

"It's something I've never seen before," the large woman breathed deeply, trying to calm herself as the pending fight pits him against such an unbelievable fighter. "-It's going to be hard."

"He might accidentally kill Kalina-" Camicazi shook her head and looked at the older woman, touching her calloused hands tenderly, "Sister, I can always fight him now- not you or anyone else in our tribe."

"No," Kalina shook her head in disbelief, "Please, Lady Camicazi, do not deny me of the chance of a lifetime. A battle to the death with him would be... it would be glorious, and my mother's honor would not be ashamed."

The Heir of the Bog-Burglars bit her lip as their Champion stood up, her zweihander held on her right hand as she walked down to the gates that would grant her passage into the Dragon Arena.

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Hiccup, on the other hand, rubbed his eyes as the last attack of Snotlout took him by surprise.

"Damn him and his bullying-" he shook his head as his eyes finally cleared, but the lingering pain in the back of his skull remained, a painful reminder of his cousin's abilities to inflict a last minute damage, "-he never changed."

"Caught you by surprise did he?"

The young man nodded as he cracked his knuckles and nodded at Gobber, "Are you sure you've recovered lad? Your next bout is already waiting-"

Another nod for confirmation and Gobber signals the trumpets to be sounded, as the whole Dragon Arena flooded with the sound he scanned the watching throng and found what he was looking for. A beautiful young woman, sitting in the stands just below the raised platform where Stoick always seats, her long blonde hair is braided he can see where he stood to gaze upon her. She seemed to feel his gaze when she looked down and their gazes met perfectly, both blushed at the same time as Astrid brushed a few strands of her hair behind her ear and huffed bashfully.

Even with his eyes hurting, he could feel his heart jumping to his throat. By the Gods, what have this woman done to him to make him feel this way. The Warriors Three and even Heimdall teases him about it.

Sighing heavily, he feels a prickling feeling on his side, the same feeling you get when someone is looking straight at you. Almost afraid to look, he swung his head anyways and saw Gobber leering his eyes at him. Catching him staring at her, he sidled next to him as the gates opened for his next opponent, "You might want to focus on this woman your fighting, instead of the woman your fantasizin-"

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"Ok, ok," he stretched a bit, his body felt relaxed as his body remembered the training he had in Asgard. He watched as the Bog-Burglar Champion walked into the ring, the watching crowd cheered on with renewed vigor as a prospect of a second duel today made watching both fights a really special treat. She finally reached him where he stood and he looked up at her, the Viking woman was a good 2 feet and a half higher than him Her arms were like those of a male, her flaming red hair now braided into a single knot while she wore her best leather armor with shoulder pauldrons made from, copper or maybe brass, who knows.

Gobber raised his hands again and began to introduce the combatants, "People of Berk,today is a very special have seen the duel between cousins and Heirs, now we see the duel where the fate of our Hiccup would be decided."

"As you all know, our young man here had just finished fighting his cousin," he cleared his throat and looked at Hiccup pointedly, "In consideration, we will offer him an hour of respite."

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"No, I'm fine-" he rolled his shoulders showing he's all fine, stretching his arms left and right, he was trying to convince Gobber that he was alright, "-look, I'm not even winded!"

"Are you sure boy!?" the blacksmith insisted as his eyes bulged out, trying to make him say otherwise, "Are you REALLY sure that you don't NEED rest!?"

He nodded again as the peg-legged old man face-palmed and sighed, he turned to the challenger and raised his hand, "In this side, we have Kalina Berthadottir, Champion of the Bog-Burglar tribe."

Claps and cheers for Kalina were heard as she took tentative swings of her zweihander, testing the feel on her hands, and the weight of the weapon. Acclimatizing herself with the sudden actions she will certainly undertake against him. Speed would be important, since most of his technique relied on speed and skill, he doesn't look to be particularly strong so there's no precaution needed against that. It's just that his moves are all odd-angled and they seem to outwit the enemy using his particular moves.

Kalina grinned as her gloved hand rubbed the sword's hilt, "He be a feisty one eh?"

Hiccup spreads his legs apart and looked at his enemy's body language, her posture is good, the sword's weight seemed to be made of straw when she swings it left and right. Her movement are almost the same as Bjornn Hofferson, with both fighters using the same fighting technique. Kalina seems to be using a zweihander, while Bjornn used a two-handed Celtic Claymore, but still their stance, their technique seemed to be the same. Regardless he must win this duel, or their newly found peace would be plunged into chaos.

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"The rules for the duel are as follows," Gobber still standing in the middle ran off the basics of the duel, "Unlike the first duel, this is now until one party wishes to yield, is knocked out, or unable to continue the fight. No killing blows can be given, and none shall be received. No help- again, especially from Dragons, and spectators-" he warily eyed the Thornston twins as both smiled innocently, "-right, and spectators will ever be allowed. Is that understood?"

Both nodded as the blacksmith ran to the sides while nodding his head to the signal horn.

The large horn from a forgotten slain dragon sounded as Gobber's voice was easily heard, "BEGIN!"

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Kalina looked at him and smiled dangerously, "My Princess needs a husband- I guess your it."

.

_._

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**To be continued.**

**Author's note:**

This story is progressing real nice, and the ideas kept pouring in. They just keep pouring into my mind and I have to write or it will be lost in my mind forever. A few questions that I would like to address,

1\. Why is Hiccup an amputee here?

Ans: It's canon (no harder argument). His leg is a direct connection to Toothless (without Hiccup he can't fly, but without Toothless he can't fly either).

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Cheers,

Scarabeye3000


	10. Chapter 10

. Guest reviews as of January 17, 2015

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Rose7 (Guest) : Thank you for the review. Well, since his skill is unmatched in three bouts already, its given of course that Hiccup would win. But why wouldn't you enjoy a great action scene when there is one right?

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Priecia (Guest) : Thanks for the review! Love your name by the way, its unique... not really sure about me being great, lets start at average at least shall we?

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Rose (Guest) : Thanks for the review, I like their pairing too. They complete each other in ways that Bulma Briefs complement Vegeta. It's a beautiful thing and I think its a good job the writers and animators for both movies considered Astrid as Hiccup's canon pairing. (Also Jay Baruchel's wimpy voice, I love it.)

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**Shout out to YmeYucca (formerly YuccaYart), bookhugs, obtusion and jlghighlander for their signed reviews!** (Already replied!)

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**Disclaimer: Any characters mentioned are all under copyright. This work is purely fan-made.**

**Title: From Asgard to Midgard**

**Author: Scarabeye 3000**

**Chapter 10: _'You have my heart... try not to drop it_**_**' Part 1**_

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Berk Dragon Arena

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"My Princess needs a husband-" Kalina looked at him, her sword aimed at his throat as she smiled dangerously at him, "-I guess your it."

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Hiccup took a step back and looked for any blind spot, sensing none so far he took out his swords and put them together at the hilt. Using an underhand grip on his left and a proper grip on his right, he warily circled the Bog-Burglar Champion as her eyes followed his every move. The Zweihander, a sword of European origins was a pretty long sword and quite heavy too, most having the length of almost 4 ft or more and weighing at least 4 to 5 kilograms. But taking a cue from this Viking veteran in front of him, raising it with her beefy arms one handed was almost next to impossible, the blade, he could see had no flaws to exploit, it was relatively new in his eyes. Kalina, not stepping forward or backward merely aimed the large longsword at him from her spot. Employing an effective defensive strategy, she was not aggressively seeking contact with the enemy, she was basically forcing Hiccup to make the first move, show his attack skills so she can prepare a more effective counter-attack.

Frankly, he could see why Kalina would not approach, the duel with Snotlout was apparently one-sided in their eyes.

And the last ability he showed, the ability to strike in the shadows was actually an assassination technique he learned from his master, to rapidly approach and eviscerate a target, all the while hidden in a fine cover of black cloud. It was just fortunate that his cousin was the recipient and he actually made changes so as not to hurt him too much. In doing the technique, he actually shamed his Master by not killing his cousin, the Shadow Strike has an 80% percent success rate and now he just added to the negative statistics. He'll need to explain that in the future, if he ever will see his Master again, regardless, he couldn't use that against here, she will undoubtedly be at the ready, but they haven't seen all his tricks haven't they?

.

And so, as if expecting her ploy worked, Hiccup's circling became smaller and smaller towards Kalina. The crowd fell silent as the Heir of Berk stood almost at lunge point of the zweihander, but his steps did not stop, it was like he was weaving in and out of range of the lunge and the Champion of the Bog-Burglars knew that if she moved first, then she would then be on the defensive. No, calm down, don't underestimate him- he's an amputee, but he's different.

"Afraid to taste the tip of my sword Hiccup?" she jested, baiting him if he would bite.

Hiccup smiled dangerously at her and she shivered at his green eyes, she felt a stab of fear as his gaze did not soften, like a dragon that is about to pounce she blinked herself awake from her frozen state as the Heir did not even move from his place near the edge of the zweihander's blade, "It is you who should be afraid Kalina... I know-"

.

Her eyes widened and she immediately lunged towards him, her zweihander extended and pointed end going for his throat. Kalina gave the thrust enough strength to go through wood as she felt half-torn with her indecisiveness. The sudden change in his manner, his voice, his face and his eyes made her panic, it looked as if she was looking at an enormous Night Fury, about to attack her from the darkness, and it felt horrifying to sense that he held the ability to do so. Kalina was shocked, she was a veteran of numerous campaigns, spying jobs, and even assassination jobs, and fear was never part of her until now. When she looked at him when he spoke his voice was bone-chilling, and she had the sudden overpowering urge to kill him and be done with it.

What madness drove her fearful at him that- damn it all to HEL! She moved first!

As the zweihander came lunging forward, Hiccup,in a display of blinding speed raised his left hand, swatting the pointed edge away from his face using his left sword, he spun forward using his amputated limb as a pivot and swung his right sword towards Kalina's midriff. Luckily, she knew the damage a single slash from the twin swords can do and she backed away with scurrying feet. Almost losing her footing, she panicked again somewhat as Hiccup gave no quarter and followed her inside her sphere of attack.

Damn him, he was more skilled and more observant than they thought at first. The great sword she wield had one serious flaw, it was long and its handle although long did not permit very close combat, on the contrary, his enemy's twin short swords are perfect for this range and it is this problem that she somehow tried to struggle away from.

Her hell began soon thereafter.

Hiccup, in a display of warlike tendency charged Kalina like a madman, the zweihander had its length as its strong point, and also its greatest disadvantage. The great sword could not be used to fight in close quarters, the wielder must always have a clear space before him or her and swung the sword skillfully towards the enemy, but she was panicking and he knew it. Raising the sword on a front guard stance, Kalina tried to stand firm, but she can only hold on as the Heir of Berk spun towards her, his evil green eyes stabbing cold fear into her stout heart.

.

Blades clashed and clang as the two duelist aimed to outdo the other, the Champion of the Bog-Burglars to fight and somehow counter attack effectively, for Hiccup to quickly subjugate his opponent with his blinding blows. Little by little, the Viking woman felt tired, in the midst of cheering and shouting of the spectators she felt a few drops of warm liquid on her cheeks.

She was surprised to see herself bleeding from so many superficial wounds, on her arms, her hips, even her leather gloves was frayed to bits, she did not even notice the hair thin wounds he had inflicted upon her. Kalina was so focused on his green evil eyes, and flashing blades before her that the state of her own body came second to her.

.

_'What is it with your eyes!?' _her mind screamed to wake up as despair clawed at her from the inside.

.

Hiccup on the other hand managed to inflict Kalina with another wound, using his sword as an excellent poker and slashing weapon. Designed by the dwarf _Brokkr_ and blessed by the aesthetics of _Baldr_, it was both beautiful and deadly, made in the forges of Asgard, he toiled day and night for these two weapons and only _Brokkr_ and his constant heckling and goading made him finish in three days. The twin blades, aptly named _Agni_ and _Rudra _were given twin spirits of different elements which the elves of _Alfheim_ graciously gifted him with from the services that he also gave them.

He broke her one piece at a time as the Bog-Burglar shouted words of encouragement for their Champion.

.

"Kalina is losing-" Bertha said softly, but failed to conceal it from Camicazi, "-the boy is a very skilled combatant."

The Bog-Burglar Heiress bit her lip as Kalina began stepping back from Hiccup's relentless assault, from afar she seemed to be holding her own, but in truth it was far worse than it looks like. She was already exhausted, the crippling fear that took hold of her from his eyes made her sluggish, demanding alot more of her strength to move her body, the small cuts that she received began to add up as numerous and as many as they come, her head swam with nausea as a persistent pounding on her head began to affects her focus. All the while seeing him still composed, unscathed, standing ramrod straight and looking at her with those cursed green evil eyes. His swords gleaming from the sun as he began to circle her again, slowly but surely, he approached her in an ever shrinking circle as all voices were hushed as Hiccup circled his prey like a wolf would approached its next meal.

"We must yield mother!" the young girl watching at the stands hissed, "I cannot allow Kalina to be slaughtered in my behalf-"

"Hush! Look at her, she might looked like she's being pushed-" the Chieftess shifted in her seat and grinds her teeth, their plan was falling apart, "-she'll counter attack, I can see it in her."

.

With her breath catching up to her, Kalina saw everything in slow motion, her breathe relaxed, her senses heightened to more than humanly possible, she clearly saw Hiccup run towards her in a straight line. Preparing a counter-attack she quickly puts the blade of the zweihander behind her almost parallel to her midriff, preparing her whole body in a desperate last swing she saw him stab the red sword on the ground. Then using his good right foot used the grounded sword as a booster to launch himself in the air towards her, it was a bold move and leaves him quite open to her counter-attack, as he took the air, he cocked his hand back and threw the blue bladed sword towards her.

Her eyes widened at her chance, he used the red one as a booster while desperately throwing the second one as a projectile towards her. He's practically weaponless now.

It was probably his training that dictated to risk a hit by disarming himself and using his sword as a projectile, it didn't make any sense, but time is of the essence and as the spinning blade came towards her, she would only need to evade the incoming threat and hit Hiccup to disable him as he seem to float towards her. The thrown blade came upon her and she duck at the right time, the blade passing over her head by a hair's breathe, momentarily losing eye contact with the Heir of Berk, she looked up she saw that he just landed near her with no weapon in hand, exactly at the kill spot where her zweihander would make the most damage, preferably to disable him. With adrenalin pumping, her whole body exploded into action, faster than the blink of an eye she heaved the great sword sideways as she finally caught a glimpse of victory.

.

The crowd cheered as a resounding clang resonated through the arena.

.

Kalina couldn't believe her eyes, but he was out of swords, he held no other swords or weapon, there was only two sheaths in his whole body. However, the one he's holding doesn't appear to be a sword. It looked like a cross between a prong and a barbecue fork, it had three separate tiers made from a metal she had never seen before, it looked flimsy in her eyes but it held her zweihander in the top most tier like it was forged mithril. The design seemed outlandish and it doesn't appear to be even sharp, it seemed to be coated with something sticky and the liquid dropped to the ground in large clear drops.

She saw that it's construction, although seemed flimsy and unable to even held its own weight adding with her own weapon,was clearly the only one that separated him from her. It's quasi-blade pointed near her face, and an over-powering smell of oil reached her nostrils as Hiccup's eyes held her once more. With her zweihander caught in the middle of his three-segmented quasi-sword that he conjured from Thor knows where, she couldn't be more surprised as they circled each other vying for supremacy against one another. Although exhausted and drained beyond belief, Kalina held on as she came within close proximity again with the Heir of Berk.

.

"Yield now," those green eyes, filled with malice and dread holds her again, "-and I might let you go unscathed."

Taking heart as the crowd exploded in cheer she grits her teeth and banished the fear from her heart, "You have no power over me-"

"-then I apologize for what I must do."

.

There was a clicking, and a grinding sound that came from the hilt of the weapon, then suddenly the whole crowd gasped in wonder and shock as Hiccup's sword burst into flame. Kalina cried out in pain, her close proximity to the weapon kept her in the line of fire as the blade ignited before her eyes. Surprised and shocked all the while still losing blood from her numerous wounds, she stepped back away from him as she shook her head trying vainly to realign her senses the zweihander forgotenn in her desperate attempt to get away.

Suddenly, as she stepped back away from him, she tripped on something from behind her, but even though half-blinded she could see him a few paces away. Her world came tumbling down as she slipped on the treacherous blue blade he threw at her, why didn't she felt more aware with her surroundings? But then who can blame her, with her initial disorientation, her most animal response would be to back away and reassess the threat, but by putting the blade behind her making her lose her balance he was prolonging her state of duress until he can disable him. Still disoriented from the 'flaring up' of his sword she didn't notice as he approached and easily knocked her off her feet with a well placed shove on her chest. Another set of clicking sounds and the quasi-blade was put away, he grasped the hilt of his captured weapon and easily swung the zweihander around. He plunged it into the ground and she breathed tiredly as he squared his shoulders and declared in a loud voice.

"You have no weapon, you are injured and have been severely weakened by blood loss-" he held the stabbed weapon to the ground as _Agni_ and _Rudra_ also lay discarded to the ground, "-yield! There is no honor to be had if you choose death-"

Kalina weighed her options, the odds were stacked against her, she was spent while he looked fresh, she has many wounds while he was unscathed, she has no weapon while he has hers and that odd little weapon he pulled out to disorient her. This was shameful, for a warrior, and for a Champion of the Bog-Burglars, she was supposed to be the best, a fitting representative of their clan and now she stood gasping for air, defeated at the hand of this cunning young man. Shame, she could not enter Valhalla while this incredible black stain is on her honor, she looked up at the stands and saw Bertha with Camicazi looking down at her with worry and concern. She held back the tears about to burst forth as she gave a hoarse battle cry and ran towards Hiccup blindly.

.

"Kalina! No!" Camicazi stood up from the pew as the spectators all shouted and screamed their approval, "Mother! Stop her!"

"Let her be lass-" Bertha's face looked somber as she saw their Champion, unarmed and rushing towards Hiccup with nothing but her courage.

.

As Kalina came thundering towards him he could felt that she was finished, this was a desperate last hurrah of an enemy who didn't even acknowledge the notion of surrender. The least he could do was honor her wish of an excellent end, he also ran towards her and his eyes burned with purpose. Her mind focused on her target, she saw him also coming for her, inwardly a smile made her close her eyes as she grits her teeth. Whatever happens, she gave it her all, fought this terrifying creature of both inhuman intellect and skill, and she as a Champion of the Burglars would not be ashamed.

With the spectators thunderous roar in their ears, they were about three paces away when Hiccup did something weird again.

He puts his left prosthetic leg forward, hunched his body down, then using his prosthetic like a coil he suddenly jumped in an arching path towards her, aiming precisely on her side he lifted himself from the ground using a special spring he attached to his prosthetic and he easily sailed through the air while making a full spin towards Kalina. Too late to react or even close her eyes, the Champion of the Burglars felt his right heel smack cleanly on her right cheek as her head blacked out for a heartbeat, and her body stood rigid for a moment. Adrenaline still pumping through her body, it quickly shuts down as Hiccup, while spinning towards her, cleanly clips her on her cheek, shaking her head and short-circuiting her brain to sleep. She crumpled to the ground the same time the young man completes his spin and lands with his butt to the hard ground.

.

A moment of stunned silence persisted as Hiccup stood up quickly and looked down at Kalina's sprawled form, she didn't even felt the full pain of the hit as her brain quickly spared her the feeling. He was an amputee and they see him spinning through the air, smacking his heel in a full spin to his enemy and- the crowd finally found its voice as the cheering overwhelmed the shouting Gobber.

.

"HICCUP! HICCUP TAKES THE DAY AGAIN!"

.

Elation and cheers showered around him, as medics came rushing forward to attend to Kalina. Brushing himself off and picking up his discarded swords, he was surprised to feel Gobber catching him in a back-breaking hug. "Oh my boy- you did it! You defeated all your duels for the day!"

He huffed and sighed, relief etched in his voice, "I'm glad- she was really hard to fight."

The cheers continued as he saw Fishlegs and the twins running towards him, they were babbling over and over about how awesome he was, his cool weapons and his godly skills in sword and unarmed combat. They were showering him with pats in the back and shoulder grabbing as the blonde Valkyrie stood in front of him and raised her chin in greeting. "That was really good fighting Hiccup."

His eyes flashed and he was suddenly upon her, Hiccup grabbed her without thinking and held her in a desperate hug.

The twins, Fishleg's even Gobber's eyes widened like dinner plates, and their brows vanished to their hair as surprise overtook all of them. What the Hel was that? Hiccup sighed tiredly and lets Astrid go, but keeps her hand in his, he smiled at her and said, "-its really good to see you again."

"Uh- I was right over there," she pointed on her place towards the stands and her blushed intensified as he nodded in understanding , his eyes watering noticeably as the blonde girl felt his skin burning to the touch, "I'm sorry Astrid- I just- I just- you know."

.

"You were reliving a past battle weren't you boy?"

.

Kalina's voice was small, yet it's weight carried clearly in the midst of the throng of the cheering crowd. Gobber puts a sympathetic hand on his shoulder as the rest of the Riders remained silent, except for Tuffnut-

"What do you mean 'reliving a past battle'?" the male of the Thornston quipped, "-its not like he went to war or something, I mean sure he fought Drago and all that, but wasn't that suppose to be his first? Right?"

Silence greeted them as Hiccup's hand still held Astrid's and his eyes glazed over, feeling his distress Gobber quickly grabbed both the couple and dragged them towards the inner rooms of the arena. Before leaving he turned to the twins and Fishlegs, "Tell your father's that we'll be meeting them at the Mead Hall as soon as Hiccup takes a rest- now shove off then!"

.

They entered a small 60x60 square meter room that serves as the first aid station and supply room for the Arena turned Academy. Gobber shook Hiccup's body as the boy turned to look at him, "Look at me boy, look at me!" his voice sounded gruff as Astrid was surprised at the blacksmith's change in mannerism. He was usually calm, jolly and quite endearing, but his sudden swing of mood unnerved her, it was like something was wrong with Hiccup.

"I want to know what's going on!" she demanded as the blacksmith continued to shake Hiccup awake, "What's happening Gobber?"

"He's entered a so-called private Hel. Some warriors, who usually experience their first battle, their first kill, and not immediately cope up with the mindset that you have taken a life in your hand would feel such remorse and pity to one's self that it unsettles them greatly- or maybe if you survived a great battle and felt such miserable conditions then chances are the visions would stay with you."

Astrid frowned, but reciprocated the grip on her fingers, "So- so, Hiccup is suffering right now?"

"He has to tell of these stories and he must do so to get rid of the guilt and the lingering pain-"

"-lingering pain? Loss? What do you mean?" she rambled fearing for his sake, "Is there something wrong with his head?"

.

Gobber sighed and looked down as Hiccup frowned and sat down on one of the chairs, "Think it like this Astrid, when you are put in a situation where you have to fight for your life to survive, then relieve it over and over again. Then that set of mind would wiggle its way into your heart and it will be your way of life- our young lad here has a really good heart- aye?"

"Aye."

"-but even a good heart can get affected, if he experiences those life threatening things on a regular basis, then he must alter his sense of mind to a state of readiness, to a state of quick action and thinking, but a warrior can only take so much without permanent damage," Gobber sighed as he saw Hiccup's eyes clear, he smiled as his pupils contracted adjusting to the light and his body felt a little bit colder, he was definitely relaxing now. "Most of our warriors and raiders do not feel the need nor succumb to that state of mind. Primarily because we can make them manage differently with enough chores to rotate the warriors in and out of battle."

"That makes sense." Their fingers were still intertwined as she felt Hiccup's temperature return to normal.

The blacksmith examined him some more and stood up, sighing in relief he picked up his things and headed for the door, "Stay with him Astrid, it is obvious he made you his anchor in his world of insanity."

He left both of them alone, but before leaving he gave her a reminder, "Remember Astrid, try to be gentle with him. He made you his anchor to a sane world, and now you handle him lass. Be careful though since if it worsens then you've got a potential Berserker in your hands."

.

_'Just like Gobber to leave you with the most important thing before running off to the Mead Hall'_ Astrid sighed as she turned from looking at the door to looking at him. She almost stood up as she saw Hiccup looking intently into her ocean blue eyes, "W- what are you doing Hic?"

"You are the real Astrid right?"

Her brow raised in question, "Yeah... yes, I am."

"I'm in Midgard right?"

"uhh... yeah."

He narrows his eyes at her and said softly, "Prove it then."

.

Astrid huffed and remembered the blacksmith's words, _be patient_, she grits her teeth and asked "How? How can I prove it?"

"Kiss me-" he was quickly upon her as he closes in on her strawberry lips.

A vein popped on her head as she cocked her free hand and punched Hiccup square in the face, he lets go of her as rolled backwards landing hard on the ground, with an agonized groan he stood up cradling his bleeding nose and said wryly, "Yep! I'm in Midgard- the one in my dreams would usually kiss me by now."

"Well, I'm glad you're finally awake from your dream world, we can finally follow in the Mead Hall," she stood up and hid her blush with the ruse of fixing her disheveled armor, _'Whew! That was close- holy Frigga!'_

.

She was about to head for the door when Hiccup closed in from behind and hugged her tightly, she made no move to get away nor did she reciprocate it, she felt rigid and her heart threatened to burst forth from her chest. Their close proximity did not help as he buried his head on her blonde hair.

"Did you not hear?"

"Hear what?" she stammered.

"Why Snotlout picked a fight with me... we were cursing and shouting- did you not hear?" his arms circled her body and she did not protest nor slapped his hands away. "He did it for you, because he also liked you- did you know that?"

"He liked me ever since we were children..."

"-and so did I Astrid."

.

Astrid finally tried to get away, but Hiccup held her firmly and gently. His embrace stops her, but doesn't stifle her and it brought a wave of euphoria and weakness in her knees she never thought she was capable of. His lips reached her ear and spoke softly, "I will say it again Astrid, I want you- for all the reasons men and women were created. I have fallen to fire and shadows, stood in the midst of the Gods, and beheld women which would be only called fair. But they cannot stand compared to you, you who have had my heart stolen years ago when we were children..."

_'Oh! Damn it- he's pouring it on!' _her mind screamed at her to run and make a defensive stance, but something else tugged at her and made her stay.

.

"... you who I have given thought to prove myself in and outside of the Dragon arena, the reason why I killed a Night Fury, not that I did _'actually'_ that one thing of course," he added helpfully as Astrid pinched her arm, "I want- I want you to consider courtship with me Astrid."

.

Damnation he just up and said it. Now what!?

.

Her mind screamed in frustration, Snotlout was pretty obvious, since day one he had been harping on about their compatibility and continuing the clan name and all that nonsense. She didn't care about any of that to be frank, and she doesn't care, just like her aunt Hilda, a former Shield maiden, a warrior woman who had forsaken all female duties and aspects. Giving herself fully to the task of being a prime warrior, she didn't even consider marriage in her life, but when Hiccup showed what he can truly do in Dragon Training, and his enormous capacity to learn and innovate, she was literally for the first time thrown in turmoil. She considered liking him, she didn't even have the inkling that it was the beginning of her fall.

She blushed, their body heat mixing as his hands grabbed her arm and engulfed her in his embrace, "I- y- you're raving Hiccup, we- we should go to the Mead Ha-"

"Am I not obvious enough?"

His arms slackened and she felt relieved, and cold at the same time. She managed to wriggle free and looked at him from the safety of the door, he was frowning and he was rubbing his wounded left arm. He looked hurt, not physically, but emotionally as she took a deep breath and said, "I don't know what to believe Hiccup, I- I don't know what to do."

.

"Why are you confused?" he turned from her and rummaged through a small chest located near a small table, he took out strips of cloth and began to dress his almost dry wound. It was the gashing wound he got from Snotlout's mace and he cleaned it quickly, she made no move to help since he looked like in the end of his wits. "I wish to know what your confused to do, do you still feel what you feel like 5 years before?"

.

She closed her eyes and released her answer with a soft breath, "Yes, I still feel the same... but I really don't know."

"Do you want me?"

"I don't know-" Astrid shook her head and bit her lip, she sounded frustrated, her indecisiveness was killing her, but she didn't really want to decide now, I mean- oh it was confusing, damn it all to hell, "... I just don't know Hiccup, I already feel that I like you- but man why is it so confusing!? I feel something weird I just can't say yes or no."

His voice was muffled as his back was unto her, he looked behind him and said, "So, judging from your answer- you cannot say yes or no, nor can you confirm your feelings with me, but you already know my feelings for you? Have I left anything out?"

She contemplated and nods her head, "I think you pretty much get the gist of things."

"So, there is no change in our relationship? We are as you have stated before unchanged correct?"

Hiccup's voice, much to Astrid's astonishment turned professional? He seemed more formal with the questions, he seemed more polite and less casual and friendly. She shook it off as him being weird as he continued his rummaging for medicines to apply on his wound, "I guess you could say that. There's no change between us- that's safe to say at least."

.

He looked hurt as he silently dressed his wounded left arm, she watched him finish, unable to have the strength to approach him after all that they have talked about. Plus, with his current state of mind, she wasn't too inclined to get into harm's way, especially now that she have seen what he can really do in a battle. Hiccup turned to her and she almost cringed, his eyes were icy hard and the warmth it held for her was replaced by- she couldn't really know, but anger, hurt, or even contempt. It was unnerving to look into this deep green eyes of his as he said stiffly, "I thank you for waiting milady, shall I accompany you now to the Mead Hall."

She didn't reply, but simply turned around and opened the door. They began walking with her standing two paces in front as he followed with his soft footfalls. What the hell happened? First he was declaring undying loyalty and unconditional love, but now, what was wrong? A coldness in the pit of her stomach almost stopped her cold on her steps as Astrid felt that he might have hurt Hiccup by shunning his advances or making a wrong answer in his questions... but what was she supposed to do? Wear a skirt and dress, dance around his palm, and prance around while curtsying to people he would introduce to the village.

Of course not!

She was Astrid Hofferson, a proud Shield Maiden of Berk, and no one can make her bow in submission.

.

.

Mead Hall

.

Stoick grinned like a fool for the whole duration of the feast, sure his son was not here yet including Astrid and he was inclined to think they were off to some rendezvous in the woods or something, but Gobber assured them that they were right behind him. So, he was more than pleased when the heavy wooden doors opened and revealed Astrid, followed by his son, Hiccup, still impeccably dressed and his twin swords already at their perch on his waist. As soon as he was in the threshold of the Main Hall, he was suddenly grabbed by the nearest Viking and raised on top of numerous shoulders as the room exploded in cheer and celebration. The ale, thanks to the blacksmith, flowed like water all around as the food's rich aromas mixed with the musty odor of the roaring flame in the midst of the party.

Hiccup was put down near his father and was quickly bombarded with questions he couldn't even hope to answer one by one, finally with a shake of his head, the Chief took out his Warhammer and banged the great table he was sitting in front of like a judge's gavel.

"All right! Settle down everyone! Let my son enjoy his victory-"

"AYE!" the whole room raised their tankard in unison as they parted and allowed the Heir of Berk to sit down.

.

As he took his seat beside his father, Astrid sat near the Riders of Berk, Ruffnut quickly sidled next to her with an expectant grin.

"So?"

The Shield Maiden tried not to blush, "Wha- what do you mean _So!?"_

"Both of you came together-"

"-so?"

"-at the same time-" Fishlegs and Tuff turned their heads towards the girls and their brows furrowed.

"What's that supposed to mean Ruff?" her bowl of stew forgotten, Astrid puts her hands on her hips and stares down at her friend, "It's not like we did something weird ok? Would you just drop it!?"

"Rough huh?"

Astrid sighed and shook her head in disbelief, this fantasy world where Ruff lives that every man that has something cool in them is worth falling for is not very healthy. Plus, if it weren't for Lugnut's own reputation as the champion archer of Berk, then she believes Ruffnut would have been married by now to some idiot pirate or sailor that came by the shores of Berk and would be so promiscuous on her _shenanigans_ just like her brother that it would not be a surprise that she would _really_ be married to some idiotic pirate.

.

"What's wrong Astrid?" Fishleg's asked as he took a bite from her turkey leg, "Is it about the duel?"

She humored him by nodding, but almost regretted it as she heard another earful from their stout friend, "I really couldn't blame you Astrid, with Hiccup and Snotlout fighting over you it must have been too much to take. Then the duel to have the Bog-Burglars marrying off Camicazi to Hiccup would have been such a disaster that the Alliance would jeopardize the whole thing."

Astrid kept silent as her friends talked about the conclusion of the duels, she stole a glance towards the head table and saw Hiccup deep in conversation with the Chief of the Bog-Burglars. She was standing up and her eyes were locked onto his, Camicazi, her short sword that Hiccup made was glittering in the low glow of the central fire. They were nodding their heads as Stoick with Gobber looked on to an explaining Hiccup, Bertha finally turned away and sat in her place of honor. The Heir of Berk then spoke with his father in hushed tones as she could not even catch a snippet of whatever they were talking about.

She turned and saw the Bog-Burglars also deep in hushed conversation, their defeated Champion already joining them, although still a bit glassy eyed and with a binding cloth with some herbs on her forehead.

.

"-were you listening Astrid?"

"What- sorry, you were saying?"

"I said, Snotlout and Hiccup fought for you," Tuff said nonchalantly, "Man, when we came to see Snotlout in the healers, he was rambling about how he liked you so much, but you liked Hiccup more. He also said that he won fair and square-"

"-wait!" Ruff almost squealed as she interjected, pushing her brother to the side, "You mean to tell me Snotlout and Hiccup's duel is because of Astrid? Not just because of some macho idiot thing about being insulted or being heir or what not!?"

Fishlegs nodded with turkey stuffed into his mouth, "Everybody could hear them- well, those at the front could catch a word or two, the victor would get Astrid... well, we all know who won."

.

Ruffnut grabbed Astrid and looked into her eyes, "Tell me you said yes... you said yes right?"

.

Their faces fell at the pained expression she all showed them, "I didn't really say _'yes' _and I also didn't say _'no_' either. Its- its complicated."

"So, what did he say?"

"He asked if- if I would consider courtship-" her blush would put a ripe tomato to shame, why were they even discussing her love life, "-he also said if he was not obvious enough, it was very unnerving."

"You didn't said no right?" the Riders were giddy as she felt smaller and smaller with the conversation, "I didn't exactly said no..."

She sighed heavily her shoulders settling as she said, "I just said that I'm confused and I'm not ready- I may have liked him, like him like that- but its all still very confusing. I said there was no change between us-"

Tuff rubbed his temples and drank a tankard of mead, "You can say that again, I was just listening and its messing me up."

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Ignoring him completely, Ruff shook Astrid to her attention, "Then what did he say?"

Shrugging her shoulders, she gave the sign of utter confusion and shook her head in the negative, "He suddenly asked questions- questions that I think had double-meaning and the gist of it is, were still not official."

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Ruffnut growled at her and huffed, "I can't believe you just lets him go- you are aware that the Bog-Burglars are here to take him away as a husband for that woman-" she pointed at Camicazi, who was animatedly speaking with her mother, "-plus, they even pulled out their big guns to secure his capture through a duel, but it can't be done since his skill inhuman of course. And most importantly, he wouldn't let them because he was pining for you."

"You are one lucky bitch you know that?" the better half of the Thornston twins shook her head at her friend, "You know Astrid, sometimes I think your stupid to let your damn pride as a Shield Maiden get in the way of your own happiness- Gods, you might not realize it yet Astrid but were not getting younger, we can't remain Shield Maidens forever."

Those words brought a dangerous glint on her eyes, "Watch it Ruff- I take pride in the knowledge that I am a Shield Maiden, don't assume I take it light-"

"Shut up and listen," Astrid stops as Ruff showed a side of her she rarely shows the others, "He fought for you in the arena, he fought for us against Drago, he stayed with us instead of going back to the Hall of the Gods, where the most beautiful and terrible Valkyries dwell and serve him everynight. But he stayed because you were here and now your sitting here, moping around and telling me that you just disavowed Hiccup-"

"I didn't disavow him- I just didn't accept his consideration of courtship yet."

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"I would kill you for that chance," Ruffnut sighed and shook her head, "Do you know how priviledged you are to have his attentions? All the girls want him, hell, even I want him, but I respect you and I also know he won't see me that way. But you know what, after what you just did, my respect for you just went south, want to know why?"

Her silence egged the Thornston on, "Because Astrid Hofferson is too proud and too afraid to show weakness to someone- who obviously feels the same way as you do. A man that has no fear while jumping on top of dragons and- Oh! I can't believe you-"

She stood up her ears steaming and red-faced mad, as Ruff stood up she punched Tuffnut in the arm eliciting a growl from her twin, "Let's go you two, let's congratulate Hiccup on his victory."

Both young men followed her and they headed for the Chief's table. Leaving her alone, Astrid couldn't help but feel cold.

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Cold, because the words she heard rang true to her soul.

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**To be continued... in 4 days for Part 2 of this Chapter.**

**Author's note:**

Well, that was an exciting chapter.

The KICK he did was a variation of the _DO MAWASHI KAITEN GERI_, a devastating spinning heel kick technique in Kyokushin Karate discipline. (Search in Youtube)

I vaguely depicted the symptoms of POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS SYNDROME, a condition that soldiers most often suffer after a grueling battle. Veterans mostly suffer, and my grandfather, a former WWII USAFFE Logistics Officer and his brother a Warrant Officer that lost a leg, was not spared of the so-called _'war shock'_.

In more ways than one, I want to highlight that not everything is roses and daisies for our hero. He has a lot to cope up to, family, friends, as a warrior, politics (groan), love, and many more things like we, here in this alternate reality have to face.

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Cheers everyone,

Scarabeye3000

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PS: I kinda said that the chapter title has a Part 1? Well, I wasn't kidding, this is just so long that I had to split it in two parts. More than 6K each.


	11. Chapter 11

**People, we had a slight delay. The Holy Father of the Catholic faith just visited our country, the Philippines, and it was crazy. I was supposed to finish on Sunday, but to cut a long story short I was broadsided by that event. I was completely oblivious of that and was delayed spectacularly from posting on the 21st of January GMT+0800.**

**My most sincere apologies.**

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**Reviews as of 1/20/2015:**

Guest # 1 : She will eventually, just a little bit of patience and the ball will keep rolling. Thanks for the review!

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Guest #2 : Of course I really don't want you waiting for nothing! Thanks for the review!

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Guest #3 : Thank you for your review, and its cool that you find it getting better and better. At least most of my efforts didn't go to waste and you feel some semblance of enjoyment from my work. Stay tuned!

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Guest #4 : Thank you for your review and for pointing out that Astrid isn't some fangirl... nope she will never be. Now, being called a shriveled old prude, that is actually not very nice. Better read Part 2,it might change your views.

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Guest #5 : Thank you for the review, and for liking the action scene. About the fluff, well, that's what I call character development. Please, do remember that in ancient times there was a protocol in courtship. You can always unsubscribed and unfollow me, I'm not forcing you to read it and if you get too frustrated, then don't read. I really apologize if its not to your liking, and let me just say this once. This is my TAKE on their alternate reality, if I screw it up and you don't like it, I really apologize for wasting your time. I really do.

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Priecia (Guest) : In the next chapter maybe I'll do that, why don't you read on and find out. :)

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Guest #6 : Thank you for the review... I'm glad I made you happy.

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Ticoeur123 (Guest) : Thanks for the review, she definitely is complicated. Read on for PART 2 and find out.

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Shout out to my signed reviews! You know who you are: **YmeYucca, jlghighlander, SMr. Freeze, Angryhenry, TheFishKing**

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**Disclaimer: Any characters mentioned are all under copyright. This work is purely fan-made.**

**Title: From Asgard to Midgard**

**Author: Scarabeye 3000**

**Chapter 11: **_**'You have my heart... try not to drop it' Part 2**_

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Berk - Mead Hall

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Astrid appeared distressed as the Riders left her alone on their long table. All around her the Vikings of Berk rejoiced at the victory of their Heir, even Kalina, the defeated Champion of the Burglars deemed it honorable to graciously accept their host's invitation and be part of the merry-making. Ruff and Tuff where vying for position as Hiccup smiled genuinely at them, Fishlegs was practically drooling as he was given the honor to hold the mysterious weapon that Hiccup used during his duel. She frowned and grits her teeth, the thing that kept tugging at her from the inside was her traitorous heart. Maybe she really did like him, Astrid wasn't really sure and she wasn't the girl that dives head on into something she doesn't have any inkling on what to do.

Her frown intensified however as Camicazi stood up and headed for the Heir's table, with Stoick speaking animatedly with his Lieutenants they didn't notice that negotiations were still going on about the stalled marriage plans.

"So, how do you use this Hic?" Fishlegs Ingerman was so giddy he couldn't stop twitching as he held in his two hands the mysterious weapon that Hiccup was using. The stories went around that it was a magical weapon that he conjured out of nowhere and from his epitaph as Dragon Master, came a new title called 'Fire Bearer'.

The Heir was quite fond of the stouter Viking since they both shared a fascination with the beast unmatched by any other. They have a great respect for life and a great love for their dragons that in terms of knowledge with their pets, Fishlegs could stand with him any day. He took the weapon from his hand and pressed a small lever, with everyone watching Hiccup's mysterious sword extends outwards and finally gets a closer look at it.

"How does it light up?"

"In Asgard, I used a clear liquid that burns brightly and explodes in a mass of flames-" he gives the extended weapon to Fishlegs and he almost wets himself from his excitement, "-since I came back, I found a perfect substitute for it."

"What do you use?"

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Hiccup produced a small metal canister that held clear viscous fluid in it and they all frowned at him in confusion.

"It's Nightmare spit."

"Eww!"

"Gross!"

"Awesome!"

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"I call the blade, _'Inferno'... _a poetic epitaph considering what I use it for."

The blade ignites as Hiccup moves the circular cylinder that held the rough iron to the flint, the spark was barely noticeable and the Heir easily twirled the exotic weapon around his hand and his arms as the audience were hypnotized by his skill and his excellent show of control. The fire snuffed automatically as he retracted the telescopic blade, everyone clapped their hands as the Vikings, highly superstitious of course, attributed it to the blessings of the Gods. Hiccup then puts Inferno away and brought his twin blades at the fore, he held the blue one first in front of everyone and held it aloft for everyone to see. "This blade is one of a matching set that I have made in Asgard, aptly named _'Rudra'_, or the storm- it is a lightweight weapon, in fact it is so light that-" he turned to his father and offered the hilt of the weapon, "Father, Gobber, I allow you to touch my blade."

Stoick takes the hilt in his large hands and felt absolutely nothing, "It's like grasping air-" the frown on Gobber was priceless as he also approached and began looking the blade over and over, he nodded in approval and smiled, "- sure does, can't even feel it in me arm- and me arm's working just fine."

"I toiled the forges of Asgard for days to finish just the hilt of the sword, imbued with the strength of the winds, it can pierce through anything and any shield that is not of Asgard-" he stood up and passed the blade to a wooden cup, it went through the handle, then the container of the cup itself as the dark red liquid from the wine soiled the table. In one clean motion the wooden cup was split in half, without the smallest exertion, and with minimal usage of his strength he cleanly pierced a wooden shield that was lying around as adornment in the Mead Hall.

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"Impressive-" Gobber took the hilt and immediately regretted it, a large gash suddenly appeared on his right hand and he lets the blade go, "OUCH! -what the?"

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"The blade is imbued with spirits, spirits of the wind that are sentient-" he gently took the blade from the ground and hands Gobber the hilt, "_Rudra_, let him touch you."

Rudra was offered to Gobber again and the blacksmith reluctantly took hold of the blade, surprised that it was so light he spun it and felt only air, "I can't feel a thing! -and it doesn't bite now."

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Hiccup smiled and stepped away, with all eyes on him he drew out the red blade and held it aloft for everyone to see. "This is _Agni,_ again forged together with his brother _Rudra,_ aptly named 'the flame'. The blade still burns after I cooled it off- got some kind of temper sometimes but, she's ok."

He offers to take Rudra from him, as everyone looks on he puts the two blades together. A lick of flame erupted from the red blade then suddenly it intensified as Rudra blew a gushing wind to it. All Vikings gasped at the sight, such magical blades, in the hands of a master swordsman, truly no one can deny his skills and ability. He easily danced with the blades in between him in an excellent display of fire and air, spinning and twirling, pivoting on his left prosthetic leg, the flames danced around the large Hall as the crowd's eyes widened in wonder and fear. With a last spin of his sword he stood straight and looked at the crowd standing in awe before him, silence again permeated and his face blushed, unsure until one decided to clap coming from the doors of the Great Hall.

All eyes turned and saw a bandaged young man, black hair askew and eyes haughty and tired, but he held a genuine smile as he limped towards the Heir of Berk.

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"Should you even be up?" Hiccup re-sheaths his weapon and turned to his cousin, "I thought your butt still hurts."

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"It was getting gloomy at the healers, and I was kind of bored-" he reached his cousin and Snotlout shook his hand as the crowd shouted in elation, "No wonder you thrashed me, you were hiding something awesome again. Also, your other victim-"

"Don't call her a victim-"

"-your adversary then, well, it looks like she got pretty hurt more than I am and I believe I should get up and get some on this party."

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They walked over to the table where Stoick sat and his Lieutenants, Spitelout looked pointedly at his son and nodded knowingly, his son smiled a little and took an offered tankard of ale.

"So, did I miss anything?"

"Apart from me showing the rest of Berk what I've been doing, we still have some things to discuss about-"

"Hi Hiccup!"

They all turned as Camicazi sidled next to Hiccup and fluttered her eyes at him, his cousin whispered on his side and said, "You traitor, you already have Astrid and in a span of a few minutes-"

"-hush you!" he hissed at him and then turned cheerfully to the smiling girl in front of him, "Hi there, its been a long time since we've last seen each other!"

"Talk about ten years, I used to hate you a little back then-" the girl with the flowing blonde hair smiled easily at him, if brawn don't work, well maybe charm will, "-but I never really hated our time together. By the way, I love your gift-"

She toyed with the jeweled hilt of her new short sword as Hiccup cleared his throat nervously. The twins leered dangerously to him, while Snotlout looked scandalized, "-you do, of course, it was a token of our appreciation to you and your mother."

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She smiled ruefully and played with her locks, it was odd, her hair was shinier and her lips looked... softer? And there was a subtle hint of, was that perfume? The Heir of Berk smiled with his cheeks reddening as he oddly scratched the nape of his neck. Why was Camicazi here now? He was about to discuss some important things with his cousin about Astrid then- oh boy, there was that murderous aura again.

He dare not look in the direction of Astrid, for fear of what he might see, instead he focused his eyes on the smiling young woman, albeit very tantalizing and appealing of course.

"I was very moved by the sincerity of your gift Hiccup, I never knew you had it in you."

"Me- wh- what do you mean?" the temperature rose a few more notches as she sat on the long chair beside him and took a hold of his right hip. _'Oh man- that's not good-' _, "I- I'm glad you like it."

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You could practically see the steam coming out of his collar and his ears as Hiccup blushed profusely at the contact. Sure, the Valkyries entertained him in Asgard, but they had a charm that he dare not touch. They were of such divine and ethereal beauty that to touch them would mean soiling their liveries, but Camicazi, was Midgardian, her blood pumped heat all over her body, the same body that's almost pressed to him right now, and its really not helping that her eyes completely held him to her own. He could only curse inwardly at his traitorous hormone.

"I heard your not married."

He gulped nervously as she pinched his right hip lightly, "I- uh- you heard right. I just got back from- from training in- uh, a land you wouldn't believe it existed."

"I see," her eyelids were colored a scarlet hue and he found it enticing, plus the smell she was wearing, it was good- actually more than good. His hormone raged as he felt the full effects of her perfume as she pressed her body next to him. She was literally fawning over him, her soft voice and gentle touches remained oblivious to anyone surrounding them, they were like two people speaking about events in the party, but Hiccup knew that if he reached out, the war would have been over.

"By the way, do you have anyone with you right now?"

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"What do you mean?" he nervously looks behind him as Snotlout glares daggers at him, the twins with their mouths hanging open and Fishlegs still stunned by the awesome weapons he just showed. Great, still no fallback.

"You know, you were very reluctant and very opposed to a marriage that we have initiated- I was thinking maybe you have different preferences?"

"Different preferences? No, of course not... how different?"

"Well, I've been to beyond our Archipelago and found interesting males that are quite fond of... well, other males."

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"GAH!" Hiccup gagged at the sight of him kissing Fishlegs or Tuffnut, or worse Snotlout, "No, I'm not like that- and what I said still stands _'I find you attractive as a woman'_, its just that- I- uh- I have someone right now that-"

"You have someone?" all ears perked at what he said, boy was the room getting hotter by the minute, he nodded as Camicazi puts her head near his, "If you have someone, where is she now?"

Camicazi's face came dangerously close as his own traitorous face began to blush, "Uhh- wait- I- I-"

"I don't think you have anyone, because you're a really bad liar..." he was caught now, _oh Odin- help me._

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**BAM**

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_'Oh thank God...'_

_._

A large twin bladed axe landed in front of Hiccup's plate and all the Riders looked at the new comer, with ocean blue eyes and blonde braided her, her hips swaying with her spiked skirt, Astrid Hofferson pushed away a wayward bang and shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly saying, "What's up?"

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Hiccup finally lets go of the breath he was holding, _'Oh, great Odin- if I ever see you again, I would kiss your feet! AND polish Gungnir to mirror finish!'_

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"Camicazi, let me introduce you to-" he stood nervously as he puts a hand over Astrid's shoulder and thank the Gods she didn't flinch or protest, she just frowned and kept silent, glaring daggers at the other blonde girl in front of her, "- Astrid Hofferson, Shield Maiden of Berk, and as corny as it sounds... Bearer of my Heart." , _'Why did I even say that- that was UGH!?'_

Astrid almost cringed as they both blushed, of all the corniest names he just had to pick that, she almost snickered breaking her indomitable show of will. She was almost beginning to regret her decision to come forward. However, seeing he was obviously distressed and quite panicky, which is a really bad sign even for him, she stood up and walked over. Being a _good friend _she was actually entitled to- ok so the hand over her shoulder is sending shivers coursing through her body so that wasn't entirely accurate with them being good friends, in any case, she just wanted to help that's all. And if she has to pretend that she was going to be a girlfriend then HEL! Just go with it.

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Or so she said to herself.

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Her face passive, and looking both at Hiccup and Astrid, Camicazi finally smiled and turned around, she spoke out loud to no one in particular as the rest of the Vikings never even noticed what was going on. "This will not go well with the alliance."

"I'm sure we can find a compromise," the Heir of Berk spoke, his voice suddenly finding its strength as all of the Riders looked at the Burglar princess's retreating form.

"Well, that went well- oof!" Hiccup flinched and sat back down on his chair as he was punched in the gut by Astrid, "That was for declaring that- _Bearer of my Heart_ thing."

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"What?" he asked innocently, his gut hurts but his face cracking and unable to hold his elation, "It was catchy- ok! Ok!"

She shook her fist and aimed her axe at him, "-and this is for everything else," and promptly kissed him in the forehead.

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Astrid walked away to the side as the Riders followed her with their gaze, Hiccup, with all his intellect still sat on his long chair as Ruff hissed at him, "Don't tell me you won't go after her!?"

Rubbing the stupid 'O' made by his lips, he quickly stood up and followed Astrid, their exit unnoticed by everyone except a select few as the celebration continued till midnight.

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The blonde Valkyrie kept walking, out of a side exit and into the cold night air, there were torches lining the sides of the road and the watch towers were fully manned. They fear not the night, since the outer riders would give warning, and their Dragons, ironically would be their best defense in case someone did try to attack them tonight. The only real problem that she would like to take care of, is her jumping heart. Astrid couldn't believe what she just did, it was like something whispered to her, or willed her to look at his direction and see his distress. And then, lo and behold, she suddenly saw her axe on her right hand and her uncontrollable feet walking towards the long table were she saw Hiccup being _harassed- _right that's a good word to put it, harassed by the maniacal girl. She just couldn't sit idly by as her colleague and friend suffered in front of her eyes, she had to help, she had to make sure that nothing bad happens to him. It was camaraderie thing, to help one another, to make sure he's safe, to tear that Burglar Princess's head right off- ok she would have to suppress that camaraderie feeling.

Still her contemplation didn't dampen the sound of someone's footsteps obviously following her outside into the cold.

The uneven footfalls, and the thud of metal on hardwood was unmistakable, "Why did you follow me Hiccup?"

She was silently elated and his reply made her heart aflutter, "Why not? Have I not told everyone that you had my heart?"

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"I don't know what we are Hic- I'm confused, if its a battle, I know what to do- if its something that must be done then I do it-" she turned to him and she almost gasped, her hearing was a bit off, she was sure that he was at least a few feet away, not right behind her, "-I just don't know, being a Shield Maiden is a dream come true- my aunts, even my mother were all Shield Maidens marrying late in their lives. Never even considering this!"

"You just gestured to all of me," he said wryly as she puts her axe down, the end of its handle still clung to her two fingers, "I'm not asking for marriage Astrid- but I want to hear you say it when you're ready- that you also wish to be with me."

"I don't think I'm ready Hiccup," her voice sounded small and he craned his head a little to hear her, "I don't think I can commit that way yet- but- but I know that it hurts- it hurts so much."

"What hurts?"

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"Here- it hurts here," she pointed to her heart and her doleful eyes melted him completely, she was a strong-willed woman, a warrior raised in a family of fierce and fearless people, the bravest of their generation and yet, he couldn't help but feel that he had brought her pain. The conflict in her is obvious, obvious of the feelings she already holds dear yet doesn't wish to acknowledge, it is a discipline bred to them since they were children. To show emotion, to feel fear, hurt, anxiety, and even the capacity to love and trust someone completely is out of the question.

Yet here she is, standing before him, holding herself up as she tried to confess. Torn up with her honorable upbringing, and her massive capability to love another person.

It was gut-wrenching to see Astrid, holding back tears, completely indecisive of herself, wanting something while not giving up the other she also held dear. Like a barb he held near her, to make her choose, to either be a warrior or a woman.

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He engulfed her in his embrace and both closed their eyes just feeling their moment of togetherness, no prying eyes see them, no curious ears could hear them. Only their hearts beating, synching, comforting, because such decisions were never made easy for warriors. Soothing words flowed from Hiccup's tongue as a warm tear made its way from her eye, down to her cheek, his embrace grew tighter as she tried to stifle a pained groan.

"Don't cry Astrid please- I'm sorry if I- I forced you," without breaking the embrace he wipes the single tear from her eyes and kissed her forehead tenderly, "We shall speak of this no more, when you are ready to be with me, then I will come for you."

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"Is that a vow?" she croaked.

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Astrid felt him nod on her head as he spoke again, "Astrid, whatever happens- I give you my word, that none may have me as you have, I chose you and shall wait for you until you are ready. I apologize if I ever hurt you... I apologize if I was forcing you into something you would not have done otherwise-"

"...but-"

"Let me finish," he gently puts a finger on her lips as he softly spoke as he nuzzled on her blonde hair, "Even if you do not accept courtship, nor acknowledge our feelings, I shall still be faithful to you and trust you- the same way you trusted me 5 years ago."

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He felt her smile on his chest as they both felt their hearts beating in sync, her eyes were moist, but he saw the old flame now burning in them. They smiled at each other and reluctantly lets go, except their intertwined hands. She was blushing, her ears burning and her heart threatening to break down her chest from its constant thumping. Her mind went blank as he embraced her and he easily understood, thank the Gods, what she couldn't say with words. She wanted him for her, but just not yet, maybe when all the questions have been answered, and when all the secrets are revealed, all the shrouds of mystery pierced, and all their scars were healed. Then maybe, just maybe they can continue on where they left off. Just not now.

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"Hiccup," her voice still hoarse from stifling her quiet sobs, "You were mumbling about something in the arena? What were you remembering?"

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Astrid soon regretted it as his face turned ashen and his eyes went blank, he kept a steady smile, but she could feel his hands trembling at the mention of that memory. She looked at him concerned and shook him awake, his eyes met hers and she felt fear, there was pain and suffering in them that she almost gasped. He smiled again at her and he sighed deeply, _"The Battle of the Ancient Fortress, _was the first battle that I participated in- immediately after training, my master deemed me ready for such an undertaking. Mighty Thor, upon hearing of this believed it is an appropriate _Trial by Fire_, and the Allfather kept his silence as they included me in the preparations for that madness- they couldn't have been more wrong."

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"What happened?" she dragged him to a chair and looked straight into his eyes, her gaze beseeching him to speak. "What did you do?"

_._

"It all started at _Alflheim_, their skirmishes with the Kursed Elves on their Western border had escalated to a full-blown war, the Dark Ones managed to attack and hold the ancient Dwarven and Elven fortress of Nargothrond."

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"Where is it located?"

"Nargothrond is an underground fortress the size of a small mountain, with defensive walls located to one side facing_ Alflheim_, and the other facing_ Svartalfheim_, it was the first and only defense against the Dark Elves. It was a massive fortress, and it would be able to sustain itself in food, and water for decades. It is able to weather the hardest of sieges, its outer walls could not be breached even if they bring the Red Death, while a vast labyrinth of tunnels, passages, and dwellings were placed strategically, to be connected with passageways and canal leading into three of the greatest halls you have ever seen."

"We fought for years on that cursed place- cold, dark, and hopeless, I felt that I would never survive... my thoughts- my thoughts were always of you," caressing her cheek with his slightly cold hand, she shivered not from the bite of the night, but from his skin on hers. It felt comforting and shivering at the same time. "Day after day, the thoughts of battle and of death reeked- you could not sleep because there was always something to fight in the darkness beneath the earth. Torches were the only ones that illuminated our way, and with the help of our Elven friends, we managed to cleanse it with continuous skirmishes that would sap the strength and sanity of any mortal human that fought with the _Golden Army_."

_._

Astrid kept her silence, she looked grimly forward as she felt the need to speak was past. She also didn't prod him further, eliciting a thankful sigh from Hiccup. Truly, just a glimpse of that memory from one of the bloodiest battle ever fought by Asgard under the cold dampness of the Earth was not a pleasurable memory. He could still hear the screams of the dying, their echoes as great pillars of earth crumble and crush those below, as the earthen dwellings were collapsed carrying the enemy and ally alike to their unmarked graves. Atrocities that would mar the annals of the Gods remained hidden beneath the battlegrounds that even Thor cried out at the misery and pain he witnessed for his brethren in battle. But now he felt safe, he felt comforted, as he buried his face at her golden braids, her scent of windswept hills of his home and of steel, her smaller and softer body that he could not believe he could embrace.

Astrid and Hiccup's entwined arms got tighter as they looked at each other, comfort that at least his personal Hel would leave him for as long as he holds this memory in his heart and the dream to have her in his arms fulfilled right before his very eyes. She felt safe and secure in his strong enveloping arms, she was safe to show her weakness, that feeling connected with someone does not need to feel forced nor hurt. Astrid knew that she only needed to reach out and he was waiting, and that also brought peace to his warring mind.

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She nuzzled in his neck as he bit his lip and closed his eyes, '_Oh Odin- am I really worthy after all that happened?'_ he almost cried out, _'-do I even deserve you Astrid?'_

_._

His questions went unanswered as she shifted from his embrace and looked up at him meeting his green loving eyes. Still no exchange of words as Astrid grabbed his green tunic and dragged him down towards her waiting lips. He hesitated a bit, with her frown convincing him to take what she offers. Their heads approached and they met in a brushing of lips, a chaste kiss, borne not of desire or passion or lust, but of mutual comfort and understanding.

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_'You are mine, and I am yours. There are no need for words.'_

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Both had a small smile on their lips as they looked up into the sky. With this night, their emotions affirmed under the stars and heavens, everything changes, for both of them and for Berk.

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Inside the Mead Hall

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With most of the merry-making winding down, Big Bertha sat in front of Stoick as both nursed a tankard of ale. Silence overtook their conversation as Camicazi returned to their table reporting her failure in charming the Berkian Heir. Kalina was escorted awhile ago by the rest of the Bog-Burglars as her daughter took one last look at Hiccup and also quickly left the Mead Hall. Bjornn and Fjall were the only one left sitting in the next table, listening and waiting for any confrontation from their Chief to the Chieftess of the Burglars tribe.

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"You didn't tell me your son already has someone."

Stoick shook his head, of course, he would get blamed again, "I didn't even know until yesterday when you arrived."

"Regardless, the information you have given us about him being on the table for negotiations does not stand- my daughter was scorned to say the least."

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"We flew the flag of truce, and expected that Berk would treat us equally as long time allies and partners. You have held us out to your rafters, did we not come full speed when you asked for help? Did we not hasten to your aid? We were severely hampered by our sailing winds, but we hastened to your aid nonetheless, and now this is the thanks I get?"

"Indeed it is shameless to assume anything less of the Bog-Burglars, but our word still stands. Berk would stand by you, to dangers or benefit, you can count on us as your allies."

Bertha scoffed at Stoick, "Your words are powerless without the bindings of marriage. Our archipelago respects no words on paper except those by the Gods. We went here, with my daughter, prepared to discuss the ratification of our alliance, has it all been a lie?"

As the Chief of Berk opened his mouth another young man plopped himself down on the seat beside him, he had a tankard of ale and two swords adorned his body, "-just like the lie that you have in your hearts and hid behind the banner of truce."

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Fjall and Bjornn's eyes went as large as dinner plates as Hiccup deliberately sat down in between the delicate conversations between two Chiefs. His eyes were livid and it held fury underneath those green orbs that he inherited from his mother. Bertha was stumped, and her blood rose to her head as she noticeably bristled and almost hissed at the Heir.

"Careful boy, I was _respectfully_ speaking with your father, the Chief, your leader and master of these lands. You would do well to stand up and take your drunkenness elsewhere."

Stoick did not flinch, nor made a move to make Hiccup go away, instead he looked at his son and nodded. Puzzled with his actions, the next exchange of words drained the color from her face, and she almost stood up and tried to run away.

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"We know of your accepted espionage job for the Uglithugs, and the Meatheads-" her mouth opened in suprise and confusion, "-and the planned Coalition in case you fail to negotiate my marriage with your daughter, my friend Camicazi, the question now Chieftess Bertha is this..." his eyes, with the same expression that brought fear to Kalina now gazed at Bertha, "What would Berk do with this Three Tribe Coalition?"

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**To be continued...**

**Author's note:**

Wait, wasn't Hiccup with Astrid? Is there another Hiccup? C'est imposible!

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Okay, so some guys have almost gotten heart attacks and have eaten more than enough Snickers therefore risking their health to diabetes. Please, do not overdo it. I have to warn you that next chapter would be less fluffy. Fluffy is not really my forte, but of course we can try.

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Cheers,

Scarabeye3000


	12. Chapter 12

Guest reviews as of January 31, 2015

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Guest #1 : I appreciate your review, don't cry everytime! Smile instead, it no broke your face! Huehuehue!

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Priecia (Guest) : Thanks for the review!

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**Shout out to saberstorm, SMr. Freeze (Arnar), TheFishKing, 3WolvenDragon, Riverat73, Angryhenry, jlghighlander, and UnbreakableWarrior for their signed reviews!** (Already replied!)

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**Disclaimer: Any characters mentioned are all under copyright. This work is purely fan-made.**

**Title: From Asgard to Midgard**

**Author: Scarabeye 3000**

**Chapter 12: _'Decisions... decisions.'_**

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BerkMead Hall

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The Bog-Burglar Chieftess covered her bitten lips as Hiccup looked at her with as much malice as he could muster. Stoick, his face passive, looked on as his son began his first real political negotiations. They broadsided Bertha with the news that they knew about the Coalition, they also told her about the fact that they knew about their clan's clandestine espionage job against Berk. Baring it all in the table, they watched as the situation went from a tense and charged mood, to a subdued silence.

"That is a lie."

"It is not-" Hiccup moved his head down and looked at her from the side, he looked both shady and menacing, "-a lie... We have_ 'ways' _to find out these things. We also know that the Meathead emissary waits on a small island north of here, that borders our seaways and theirs, the size of a sandbar, for your favorable response.

Bertha remained tight-lipped, obviously Hiccup had something more to him than just skills with the blade. He bared the facts and everything that they thought would remain concealed for the duration of their stay, but that won't be the case here. She looked at him, his gaze hard and unyielding, she was about to speak when Hiccup produced a flat circular crystal from his inner tunic and both Clan leaders interests were piqued.

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"This is a memory stone, Asgardians-" Bertha frowned quizzically, "-yes, I've been there. You honestly don't think I made the magic swords here do you? Anyway, this is a memory stone Asgardians use to report whatever they have seen or witnessed. It holds select memories that the beholder can see and peruse at their pleasure. For now, I wish you to see this-"

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Bertha took the offered memory stone and looked down on it, the crystal weighed lightly on her hand and heavily on her heart. With all the magical things that he managed to conjure, well, there is an excellent chance that his words rang true. How true, well, this small circular mirror crystal would- oh it's glowing now-

The Chieftess looked enthralled at the moving pictures in front of her, it showed her, Kalina and Camicazi speaking in hushed whispers inside the corner table of the Mead Hall. All in all, nobody was supposed to see them, and nobody was supposed to hear them, surprisingly, it was like looking into the eyes of someone else. Like a piece of glass was held in front of you and look through it, more and more it made no sense- the vision mystified her and also kept her attention where did they get this information. The moving pictures moved and showed short glimpses of their conversations, but it was enough to dig their own graves three times over.

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Visions swam through the crystal as forms and shapes slowly materialized into solid objects, it became so clear she saw their own faces looking back at her from the magical crystal.

_Kalina spoke with a frown on her face, "What about the Uglithugs?"_

_"If the Berkians fail to be amicable-" it was her face now, with a 'get-over it' look on her._

_"-the other tribes are waiting... we could force their hands." their Champion's face held a hard gaze._

_._

She shook her head and bit her lip, they were caught with their lies on their lips, and considering they were speaking with a Viking clan, well being killed looked very clear right now. They could cut off their heads and mount them on pikes, feed them their own tongues and gouge their eyes out. The others in her retinue might be sold off as slaves, after being beaten and raped, or worse fed to the dragons. The Berkians could kill her and enslave Camicazi, oh her daughter- how could she...

"Very well, I admit-" humiliated and defeated, Bertha nods her head and accepts her fate, "-I surrender myself to you, but spare my daughter and if you can the other girls with me. You have my fate in your hands."

Silence from both father and son as she felt uncomfortable, well, she gripped her dagger underneath the table, if she dies well she might as well take this son of a-

"You can't possibly think that we would kill you do you?"

Bertha looked stumped, "Assuming I'm still talking with Vikings-" her grip on her dagger slackened, "-that usually happens when things go sour."

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"No."

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"What!?"

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Hiccup drained his tankard and looked at his father and Bertha, "That's not good for business, and a considerable waste of resources and some real good allies. Honestly speaking, no one will really win if we do away with you. Instead of dying, or getting _Blood Eagled_, I have a better idea. Would you parlay with this _'disrespectful' _young man?"

The Burglar Chieftess raised her tankard and sighed, no harm in listening I suppose, her eyes meeting his own green ones, "What did you have in mind?"

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After talking for almost an hour, Big-Breasted Bertha steps out of the Mead Hall and into the cold night. She puts a furry cloak over her back and headed for the longhouse that the Berkians have assigned to them. A sigh of relief came out of her lips as the words given to her by Hiccup, made her like the boy even more. His battle skills are so potent and unpredictable, yet she didn't think that it extended to political maneuvering. Right now, if he would rule Berk, she feared they would all bow to him in servitude. However, his heart still remains the same, being good and honorable is imbued to him so much he actually exudes an aura that would make you feel... disarmed? A good word to describe a Viking that a few hours ago, easily defeated all his challenges and also managed to sway her to his plans. The Uglithugs and the Meatheads will be surprised by this, and their reputation might suffer, but they have their lives.

Also, technically, they weren't exactly betraying anyone. Yet. But the plan that the Heir of Berk confidently confided in her meant that he was absolutely sure of the outcome already. Truthfully, it was scary to think, that at such a young age, he seemed much more cunning and treacherous than Alvin himself.

Shame really, her daughter and this young man cannot marry. Just thinking of the possibilities he could percolate in his mind made her smile again. They were really lucky this time.

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Meanwhile, inside the Mead Hall Stoick and his Lieutenants including Hiccup sat around a round table. Spitelout, still recovering from his wounds, went home earlier with his son, Fjall and Bjornn both looked on as the Heir of Berk discussed the numerous agendas they needed to finish before turning for the night.

"I never expected the Burglars to be so... cooperative."

Fjall nodded, his ever present notes laid out in front of him, "Right now, they have to be- according to Lugnut, the compiled information of the Burglars that they were supposed to give to the Coalition was pretty accurate. It contained our ability to retaliate any raiding party, our defense capabilities, and being women trained in extracting the truth, our standing forces which is still pretty low compared to what we have in peacetime has been revealed."

Stoick sighed and shook his head, "Just make sure that our men don't make a fool of themselves- we don't want our eligible young men running off to the Burglars right now, especially when we're still recovering our losses."

"Anyways, is this time considered _peacetime_?"

The stout man shrugged his shoulders, Hiccup spoke eliciting a smile from him, "I don't know, let's see- we have an ally that's _spying _on us. We have eight, possibly nine Riders that could carry weapons on dragon back, without any distractions from our friends. The rest would simply be thrown off by the dragon's nervousness-"

"We really need to address that," Bjornn looked tired as he nursed a fresh tankard of ale, "Our dragon force is strong, defensively speaking we are unmatched, as long as no one uses that Bewilderbeast we can quickly repel any raiding army before they even come ashore. Problem is our offensive capabilities, our standing warriors are not enough to mount a successful raid, only scouting parties could venture for now and no more."

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"The problem with the weapon carrying Riders is actually very simple," Hiccup interjected, "It's just that the dragons are not used to them, for example, we have Astrid who carries her weapon most of the time that Stormfly probably dismissed it as something very essential for her. Another good example is Fishlegs, his dragon Meatlug actually fetches his medical kit including his dagger because the dragon managed to attribute it to be being beneficial to them and their kin most of the time instead of being harmful."

"So your telling us, that the way for the dragons to let us carry weapons is by getting used to the idea that we NEED to have weapons? Unbelievable! That could take months of training!"

"I'm glad you appreciate the situation as dire," Fjall looked down on his notes and smiled a bit, "On a side note, we have the perfect opportunity to boost our Rider capabilities."

"...and? What is that opportunity then?"

"-the Rider Selection Games."

Stoick perked up on his seat, "Oh! Almost forgot about that, perfect timing indeed, we can put Hiccup in charge of that-"

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His head tilted, Hiccup asked, "What do you mean dad?

"Ever since you were lost to us- we saw the need for additional riders and to house most of the dragons that scattered after the death of their Queen... also we don't want to waste your hard-earned efforts, so in effect we decided to increase the number of Riders that we have," the Chief explained, his great beard ripples as he sighed after drinking, "-of course, we had great help by listening to your teachings."

"W- excuse me, my teachings?" he was puzzled, "What do you mean?"

Fjall, with great flourish produced a leather bound book that had been opened numerous times judging from the crease marks on its spine. It was a small book, no bigger than his whole hand, with pages overflowing and pouring on its sides and carefully binded with paste. The initials on the first pages were unmistakable, the illustrations of battle plans, the drawings of dragon parts, the writings and comments, they were all of him. A compiled information from his sojourn with Toothless during the days they were still learning from each other, it brought a smile to his lips to remember that his tribe preserved his works. Truthfully, he didn't even remember all the things he left here, the things that happened to him went by so fast, the education, the martial training, the feasts, the battles- oh by the Gods, the battles.

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With bittersweet emotions he caressed the cover of his old journal and looked at the aged faces in front of him, they were scrutinizing him and he saw that all looked at him full of worry.

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Puzzled at their faces he asked, "What is it father?"

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"I am concerned with your eyes my son, they are full of- well, with battle rage."

"What do you mean?"

Bjornn sat in front of him and puts a hand on his shoulder, "Have you told anyone yet about your sagas with the Gods?"

He shook his head and sighed, the time he spent with the Asgardians was both happy and sadness, to be able to witness such great feats, and breath-taking worlds are just beyond him sometimes. But sometimes the worlds they often visited already housed people of such stalwart convictions that any attempt to dislodge nor subjugate them cannot be done without bloodshed. Thus, his trial by fire arrived and the numerous horrors and enemies he faced returned to the fore of his memories. Hiccup felt constricted as his eyes teared a little from the memories rushing to his mind, he looked at his father and smiled a little, maybe some other time he would let his tongue loose, just not now, "I can't father- this is not the time, I wish to do justice in the telling of my saga that you would not be able to stand from your seats. In due time..."

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"I shall meet you tomorrow at the docks for the Burglars farewell ceremony," Hiccup hastily stood up and closed the great door behind him, "I take my leave, good night father."

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As he walked outside, Hiccup took a deep calming breath, he carefully surveyed his surroundings and made a bee-line for the thick cover of the nearby forest. He was careful to stay near the shadows as his near soundless steps carried no audible sound to anyone taking their time to track him. The night is cold and crisp as he made excellent progress towards a nearby clearing, with his mist-filled breathe concealed with a simple dark scarf he arrived into his destination. The small clearing held one fallen tree stump, a few flat rocks that are ideal for seating or as a makeshift table, and the tree canopy offered enough shadows to hide his silhouette from prying eyes. The moon was also covered by a sudden rush of dark clouds that easily billowed and constricted its pale shine, sitting down carefully at one of the smooth stones, he propped his uninjured feet up and sighed.

"What's taking them so long?" he wondered aloud.

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Meanwhile

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With her curiosity piqued, Astrid Hofferson constantly badgered Hiccup about his new revelation. The cold night air, already filling their warm breathes with mist, their covered hands intertwined as they made their way towards her house. Sure, she's a Shield Maiden, and as a fighter there are very few that can go toe to toe against her. But since tonight they've been dropping walls and tearing masks upon masks of pretentious personas, well she could afford this little _'girly'_ thing called being escorted.

"So, about that battle of Narmonond?"

"-the Battle of Nargothrond."

"Yes, that's the one-" she looked at their joined hands and blushed even more, "Y- you told me you would tell me a bit more- if- if it's ok you know- I don't want to impose something or anything to you-"

Hiccup genuinely smiled, the Valkyrie of his dreams holding hands with him, blushing, and fidgeting with words. Oh will his favor to the Gods never end, he might end up selling his life to Freyja. "What would you like to know?"

"What was it like?"

"It's a long story-"

"-I'm willing to listen... the- the same way you're willing to-" she blushed again, struggling for words while brushing a strand of her hair away from her face, "-w well, at least you're willing to understand me and all that-"

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_'By the Gods- will she please stop being so damn vulnerable and adorable! I could just- oh my GODS! STOP THIS HIC-' _he shook his head trying to return his sanity, "Of course, milady... I would tell you my story if you would have me."

Astrid smiled and dragged him towards her house, "Let's go to my halls, no one will disturb us there."

It was his turn to blush profusely. Seriously, didn't his Master discipline him enough to hold himself in check. It was like his hormones were making him hear whatever he wanted to hear, and if possible still, his blush got redder as her words drove home to his muddled brain. 'Let's go to my halls? No one will disturb us there?

Oh man, he was slowly turning into a crazed maniac, or worse, like Fandral.

"I'm pretty sure no one would disturb us there-" he said teasingly as she stopped and playfully hits him on his arm.

"I meant to _'talk', _so don't get any ideas Hiccup."

He pouted, "I know that."

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Laughing softly they finally reached the halls of the Hofferson's and both stepped inside the darkened house, Bjornn, Astrid's father was obviously still at the Mead Hall with her mother. Reluctantly releasing each other's hand, Astrid proceeds to the kitchen and fetches the kettle, while Hiccup takes out his blade _'Inferno'_ with his sweaty hands and pours a small amount of the so-called fuel to the cold logs piled on the fire pit in the center of the longhouse. With a push of a button he extends the blade and ignites it, lightly touching the tip to the immersed logs, it quickly burned and began to heat up the whole hall. Lugging a heavy kettle easily on one hand, she puts it above the open fire and rubs her hands together hastening to heat them up. Curiously, he saw that she had foregone her usual battle attire consisting of the hated armored spiked skirt, iron pauldrons, and leather boots with matching greaves. Her headband still adorned her hair as her chest bindings came obviously loose with the removal of her armor.

By the Gods, if he wasn't so disciplined he would grab her now, but Heimdall is obviously looking at him and laughing no doubt- or worse, taking bets with the Warriors Three.

Cursing inwardly at his traitorous hormones as he tried not to look at Astrid's silhouette through the dancing fire. Dressed in a white shirt inside, and covered with a long white dress that covers her long coltish legs, he could only gulp his excitement as she sat on one of the long chairs in front of the fire pit. Looking behind her she gestured to him to sit beside her as he slowly, tried to control his raging hormones- I meant heart, his raging heart.

"It's finally getting warm-"

"Yeah," he can only reply in his still stunned state, "I guess it is."

He tentatively sat beside her and again boldly takes her hand into his, a smile broke his concerted efforts to brace himself as the dancing fire light illuminated her beautiful face. Never in his dreams did he dare to see Astrid beside him, in front of a roasting fire, in nothing but a fine silken corset and- STOP! What is happening to him? Holy Allmother Frigga!

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Astrid on the other hand didn't feel as secured with her feelings as she thought she was, quite frankly she wouldn't even know what to do why she invited him over. To talk maybe, to enjoy the moment of her near vulnerability, plus, letting Hiccup see her in her casual clothing that nobody has ever seen brought an unfamiliar shiver to her senses. Like the cool night air washing over you while covered in your furs, she felt that why not show him this, a sight no one has ever seen before, not even their peers.

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Shaking his head to clear all perverted thoughts, he focused instead on her ocean blue eyes. The same eyes that held the fire of battle, and the determination and bravery that made her attractive to his eyes. He vainly tried not to think about the chest that's currently pressed on his upper arm, a chest that was obviously bound tightly in her leather armaments, but quite... umm, busty for a young woman.

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_'Oh great Heimdall- please, please close your eyes. Just this once please close your eyes-'_

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Feeling helpless with his unheeded prayers, Hiccup instead puts his free hand into his tunic and takes out a smooth circular crystal that immediately piqued the curiosity of our heroine. The young Heir puts the smooth circular crystal in front of the fire light as Astrid tentatively reaches out to touch the glowing stone.

"What is this?"

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"This is a memory stone- we use this little thing to store our memories for our reports direct to the King."

"King? You mean the _Allfather_ right?"

He nodded as he hands her the circular crystal, Astrid takes the offered artifact and instead of letting his hand go, she snakes her arm on his and sighed as she puts her weight and leaned on him for support. Carressing the clear object she was surprised as objects began to dance, colored lines come and go as her eyes moved together with the shimmering spectacle right before her eyes. After a few moments the dancing lights settled and she saw Hiccup dressed in full Asgardian regalia as he joined the ranks of those soldiers who also hold twin swords. Curiously, it was not the twin swords he held now, but the same swords the Golden Army used. A glimmering white steel type of short sword that they all saw most of the soldiers used, her eyes grew wide .as the view panned outward and she saw the legion upon legion of men marching with Hiccup as they made their ways towards a bridgeway made from crystallized rainbow.

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"How do you use it?"

"You just swipe your hand over it, to make sure it is awake... then you simply concentrate on what you want to see."

Her open hand swiped the crystal and the view changed again, presumably to another section of his memory. It was breathtaking to behold a view so condensed into such a small object.

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While Astrid concentrated on the memory stone, and its slowly spilling secrets, Hiccup looked at the other side of the wall and rubbed the blood dripping from his nose. He was nose bleeding like a teenager and he couldn't help it, she was pressed at his side and its really not helping that she's as inviting as she could ever be. Plus, he was close to the limits of his abilities that to put him in this situation would not really mean well for everyone involved. Taking calming breaths as slowly as possible he slowly opened his eyes and saw Astrid looking down on the crystal, transfixed at the vision before her.

It was his view of the Gates of Nargothrond, its heavy steel doors unhinged and broken, hundreds of their allies still pouring inside the mountain entrance to retake the ancient Fortress as the approaching noise from outside broke them out of their thoughts.

The wooden bolt quickly turned as Hiccup hastily stood up away from Astrid, just in time as Bjornn slammed the door open while being supported by his wife. Her father's drunk grinning face immediately brightened a lot more as he saw the Heir of Berk in their halls. Both Hiccup and Astrid blushed as she hastily hid the small crystal she was given. Her mother's eyebrow was raised as she whispered something to her father and unbelievably, her father giggled at the hushed words he received.

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Gulping loudly he almost ran as Bjornn approached him and slapped his shoulders that it hurts. Now, in all his training he was never supposed to be hit, and if it cannot be helped to be hit, well, he will just have to find a way to lessen the blow. But he was standing up straight, his senses obviously flying in all directions with the surprise of her parents arriving and then he gets hit hard by her father, while laughing elatedly for Gods unknown reason. That will leave a bruise as he uncomfortably tried massaging it to lessen the sting.

"So young man, I take it this is your reason for- I'm right behind you my wife-," his wife slinks away towards the bedroom, but not before kissing Astrid, "-your reason for the rushed exit in our meeting?"

"N- not really."

"Don't be shy boy!" Astrid's mother decided to bring down the embarrassment by calling down from the top stairs, "Our daughter is a virgin! No man bested her before, except you of course!"

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"Mother! Please-" the addressed young woman burned red in embarrassment "-you are killing your daughter with your big mouth spouting nonsense! Please shut it!"

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"-but it's the truth," her drunken father interjected, he began to move up the stairs trying vainly not to fall down, "If you would do it, just do it- we can always talk about marriage in the morning."

Astrid sighed heavily, her father could be very difficult to deal with when drunk, it was as if he would shake off his tough strong exterior and be all goofy and mushy in front of her mother. Seriously, every single time they would drink together it would be like they were switching their personalities. And if that's not enough, they always find a way to tease her about not having any suitors... or being a virgin is all that bad, I mean she's what 19? So what? She just haven't found the one that she can surrender herself with, -wait, ok so he _might have_ already arrived on the head of a crashing rainbow bridge, but it's not yet time for that. She turned and looked at Hiccup, also blushing at the awkward statements flying around the Hofferson's hall.

"I think I should go-"

She nodded breaking the spell of their moment, "-yeah, you should. its kind of hard with all this silly racket flying around the house."

"I'll see you tomorrow and uh- mind if I leave the memory stone to you?"

"Sure!" her eyes twinkled at the chance to peruse such a magical equipment, "oh! By the way, about the virgin thing-"

Hiccup blushed as he nodded in understanding, "Don't worry I love the fact that you're a virgin-" _, '-oh no.'_

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A furious scream was heard and he scrambled away from the Hofferson's, daggers and an axe flew after him as he quickly ran for his life while Astrid seethed inside.

"That was a compliment!" he called after her from a safe distance as he saw a blackened kettle flying in an arc towards his waiting face, "Oh, this is gonna hurt..."

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After the excitement of her parent's arrival and their subsequent interactions she excitedly douse the fire on their pit and hurried up to her chambers. Bolting the door behind her, she quickly crossed to her bed and threw the covers over her now cold body. Nights at Berk can be brutally cold, yet somehow the notion of this small treasure nestled in between her bosom brought a modicum of warmth to her senses. She scrutinized the small crystalline device again and saw the lights dancing inside, just like before it seemed to require a few moments to realign itself as it slowly came to life. She closed her eyes and concentrated on what she wanted to see, wait, what did she want to see.

_'I want to see his memories from the start-'_

Blackness greeted her and no lights materialized. Maybe she's not doing it right, he said before that you need to concentrate, well she did that, maybe specifically a single memory.

Nodding internally, closing her eyes she cleared her mind and thought mightily, "Nargothrond... show me the Battle of Nargothrond."

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She opened her eyes and saw again Hiccup, dressed in the green liveries of his Master. It brought fear and a sudden gripping coldness to her senses, the warm fur blanket did nothing to assuage her feelings of dread. Behind the young man was a banner flying in the wind, it was a symbol all Vikings knew of. Hiccup's master, was none other than the Trickster God Loki.

Her eyes remained transfixed as the memory began playing before her.

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"That was a compliment," Hiccup grumbled as he rubbed his head forlornly, the _Kettle of Doom_ that Astrid launched smacked him on the center of the face, making him dizzy and disoriented as he crawled to get away from the raging young woman. Taking wobbly steps he quickly headed for the cover of the nearby forest, with the shadow of the trees hiding him, he made his way through the thick foliage and finally came upon the lone clearing where a young man of equal debonair and a roguish grin smiled back at him.

"You are late."

"Technically-" Hiccup faced Hiccup with a flourish, "-since you and I are the same, we are neither late nor early."

"Touche"

Hiccup, the one who was sitting down looked at the newly arrived one with a frown, "What happened to you?"

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He laughed softly and rubbed his sore forehead, "I gave Astrid a compliment- and then she threw her kettle at me. Seriously, why did I even deserve that?"

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Both shook their head as the one that came from the Hofferson's faced his seated kin and asked, "So, any news from the Burglars?"

"They'll be meeting up with the Uglithugs tomorrow, the plan will require us to wake up early- it will be quite a show."

"How about Toothless then?"

"I am still waiting for their arrival- speaking of which-" large wing beats reached their ears as a shadow loomed overhead, eerily illuminated by the moon, Toothless glides down from the skies. On his back, another Hiccup takes the rein as he urged the dragon for a soft landing. With a set of large flapping motions, the black Night Fury touched down as the additional Hiccup quickly dismounted and walked over to the two waiting ones.

Toothless also followed and nuzzled the one that came from Astrid's house, this earned him a few scratches as the dragon happily wagged his tail and juts out his tongue.

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With a flick of his hand the Hiccup that attended the banquet flickered into thousands of little lights and vanished, the same with the one that was riding Toothless. A final smile as both vanished into thin air, as the real Hiccup, the one with Astrid and currently sporting a blackened forehead is busy being nuzzled by a black Night Fury.

"I know bud, I know- don't worry about me though, I can handle myself," he smiled as Toothless licked him in the face, "It's you that I'm worried about."

The dragon's ears perked up, a question mark clearly showing in its facial features, the Heir can only smile at his friend's innate intelligence.

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"I'm going to be in a heap of trouble tomorrow," he pressed his forehead to the dragon's head and closed his eyes. Feeling each other's breath, their body vibrations, even their heartbeat were in sync as he spoke softly to his best friend. "Trust me bud, I have to do this alone- if it gets tight, would you rescue me?"

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Toothless cocked his head and nodded playfully, laughing softly and realizing he had understood his words, he gave him one last scratch and stood up from his seat. They walked towards the village and surveyed the whole area as they made a beeline towards the house of the Chief. Judging from the light coming from inside the house, his father probably arrived and was already making the house warm for his arrival. He ran to the house in a losing race against the playful Night Fury, they quickly reached the steps and mounted it two or three at a time.

Hiccup saw that the unhinged door was finally fixed, no thanks to the one who unhinged it, who's currently shaking and warbling right next to him that trying to stand seemed an impossible task.

He opened the door and saw his father, reclined on a very large chair, cheeks tinted with his drunkenness and snoring lightly. Signaling with his pointed finger, he motioned for the excited dragon to be silent as they made their way upstairs. Finally, reaching his own hall, he allowed Toothless to come inside and settle right down beside his bed. Removing first his twin blades, _Agni _and _Rudra, _he hangs them on one of his bed posts, next to come off are his ornate greaves, his lamellar armor and then finally his upper tunic. He moved towards the corner of his room and washed his face with a basin he made a long time ago. Drying himself up, he walked over to his bed and lied down to the soft furs, snuffing the candle on top of the table beside his bed, darkness quickly overtook the room as he called out into the darkness.

"Good night Toothless."

"dhabu, habu!" the dragon vocalized in reply as Toothless sighed audibly and emanated heat waves from his own body, completely warming the bed and everything else around the Night Fury.

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Morning

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Gustav Larson yawned as he made his way down from the lookout, sure, their replacement didn't bother to remind them that they were signing up for the double shift since the changing of the schedule would coincide with the time that the Bog-Burglars would depart their island. He was so bored, and annoyed that he didn't get to see Hiccup fight in the duels. The warriors all told stories of his great triumph and his phenomenal skills with his blades, he also easily defeated the Champion from their allied tribe and this puts him in a much higher esteem, perhaps even as high as the people hold their Chief.

He sighed defeatedly at his incredible misfortune, maybe Arnar, his partner in the lookout would give him some other details that the warriors probably left out. Excitedly he made his way down towards Berk and looked at the whole sleeping town before him, the house on the Hill just below the lookout was the Chief's, since it is easily seen to be the biggest of the Halls, just below of that is the Mead Hall. Generations of Vikings, walked in and out of its great hold, under numerous occasions from weddings, celebrations, dates of birth, even funeral rites. And just below that are the many Viking homes and halls that stood together, some that stand alone with their own livestock caged somewhere around the property.

More houses on the midlands, not much further to the Mead Hall now he thought, ah yes, the docks where all their ships are moored and just above that is one of the entrance to the Dragon hangars.

Wait, there are five surviving ships when the battle of Berk was concluded, seven were salvaged from Drago's armada, then there were the two for the Bog-Burglars.

He stopped his movements and began counting in his head, so, if Berk has five surviving ships, plus seven salvaged- that would be twelve longboats, plus the two from the Burglars, which should make it fourteen.

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"So, why in the world am I seeing only twelve masts? And one of the twelve ships already careening to the side and noticeably smoldering?"

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Realization dawned on him like a rampaging Monstrous Nightmare, the Burglars are gone. He ran towards a nearby bell and took the sounding hammer that hung beside the bell itself.

As the town awakened from the alarm coming from the middle mark of the lookout, Stoick awoke from his sleeping state and rushed outside. Wiping the sleep from his eyes, the Chief of Berk saw a rushing Gustav as the youth braked right in front of him.

"Chief- I- have- a- huh!" he ran full pelt towards his Chief as Gustav panted like a horse.

"Calm down son, relax, take a breather and tell me why did you sound the alarm?"

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"Chief- the Burglars-" his cheeks tinted from his exertion as his breathing caught up to him and he said, "-the Burglars are gone!"

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Stunned but still collected, Stoick grits his lips and rushed back inside his house. Seeing the fire pit still smoldering, it seems Hiccup renewed the fire in the night, good, that means he's in his room. The Chief mounted the steps and quickly reached his door, knocking on the wood forcefully, he called out from behind the door.

"Hiccup! Are you there?" silence as a cold dread washed over him, "Hiccup! Are you still there son?"

With no reply coming forth, he braced his shoulders and slammed his whole body at the door. It quickly gave way as Stoick hurriedly scanned the room, the dragon's head was up and it rubbed the sleep from his eyes, the bed was empty and this brought a cold feeling on the pit of his stomach. Toothless bounded up to him and cranked his head to the side, as if to ask his best friend's father, _'What's up? Anything wrong?'_

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He quickly turned and stormed out of the house, Gobber greeted him as Gustava sat on the ground a little away from them, "Stoick! The Burglars are gone, they must have slipped away during the night- curiously, all our longboats had their oars disabled, and one has a large hole on the front of the hull. Sure we can fix it, but it'll take some time-"

"Is Hiccup at the armory?"

"Wha'?" the Blacksmith was stumped, "I thought he was with you, I mean, he's usually there by this time of the morning."

The cold feeling washed over him as he considered the scenarios, being Chief gives him the liberty and the ability to think of such. I mean, it's not that hard if you think about it, the Bog-Burglars are gone, they can't take Hiccup with them properly so obviously they would do the only thing that are very proficient of.

Burglary.

In this case however, instead of lesser things, like gold, silver, gems or jewelry, they took the most important treasure of his life right now.

His son.

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He grits his teeth and cracked his knuckles, those blind imbecile-like women, they were treated with respect and their son agreed to even spare them. He turned to the gathered masses and looked especially at Gobber.

"Fix those ships and prepare the men for battle, the Bog-Burglars left here early to get the only thing they weren't able to get their hands on, Hiccup, the Heir of Berk and my son," Stoick's face could only be described as furious and angry, a dark cloud hung over him as the men cowered in fear at their usual steadfast and fair leader, turn into someone so savage and wild that all fear his fury. "They want a fight, we shall give them a war! Who is with me?"

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He shouted in conviction as the gather Vikings roared their approval, they all turned and began gathering provisions, food, including clothing and beddings. If their thinking what their leader is thinking, then they would definitely pursue the enemy to their own homelands. It's a shame really, to be able to say that you have allies then suddenly stab them on your back. It can't get more worse than that.

As the whole of Berk prepared for battle, Stoick remembered something and turned to Fjall, "Where are the Riders? And where is Astrid?"

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A few kilometers just beyond the Isles of Berk

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The flagship of the Bog-Burglars teemed in activity as they make good head wind sailing away from the Isle of Berk, Camicazi stood on the prow of the ship as she covered herself in furs. Instead of the usual music and songs to accompany the rowing, the mood and atmosphere was subdued. Primarily, by the treacherous way they have left Berk, their host, in such haste and secrecy. Second, by the currently brooding young man tied to their main mast as Kalina, the wounded Champion of the Burglars stood guard at their prisoner.

Taking one last fleeting look at Hiccup, Camicazi strode over to him and bends to his eyes level.

"I'm sorry it had to be this way."

The Heir of Berk kept silent as a rag was tied around his mouth, it would be futile to shout or talk, and doing so would only expend unnecessary energy.

"I really am sorry about this," the Heir of the Burglars shook her head and her eyes softened, "You gave us no choice Hic- you were just too good to belong to a single tribe- we wanted you for ourselves, I wanted you for myself... now you have forced our hands. The Coalition would make the decision for us now.

His green eyes filled with malice and contempt, Hiccup growled angrily through his muzzled lips and huffed at the sky. There were excited voices as a small dot appeared on the horizon, so the Uglithugs would meet them there in a small sandbar, just like what they talked about. Heavy footfalls approached him from behind as he finally focused on the ship's captain.

Big-Breasted Bertha looked down at Hiccup and sighed, she looked both ashamed and guilty of a very heavy crime. Kalina stood up, as Bertha lowers herself to his eyes level, "That small sandbar is the location for the meeting, I hope you're ready to meet with the Uglithugs- because they sure as Hel-bent ready to meet you."

The Chieftess stood up and walked away, again Hiccup rolled his eyes and sighed, how did he even get into this mess. They already discussed those plans tomorrow, but right now amidst all this things happening around him, he couldn't help but feel calm through it all. Female sailors cheered as the sand bar came into view and they all saw from the distance three long boats moored, with the banner of the Uglithugs raised high from where their emissary stood on the small island.

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Hiccup can only shook his head, and sigh at the absurdity of his situation. _'This is either really good, or really bad-'_

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**To be continued...**

**Author's note:**

I missed you mateys, its been more than a week since my last update! And lo and behold, Holy Mother of Frigga! More than 100 FOLLOWS!? I didn't even notice. Thank you so much guys.

Really thank you so much, I don't even know how to show my gratitude. Again, read and review!

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Cheers everyone,

Scarabeye3000


	13. Chapter 13

**Reviews as of 2/4/2015:**

Rose7 (Guest) : Actually, the Riders are already there, Snotlout, the Twins, and Fishlegs, without Hiccup their collective leader becomes Astrid. So in that sense she was the one that Stoick wanted to talk to. Glad you enjoyed the chapter. Thanks for the review

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Mark (Guest) : **The real Hiccup was with Astrid**, if you don't mind re-reading the part where Hiccup flicked his wrist and the one that came from the banquet vanished, together with the one riding Toothless. It makes sense that the real one goes with Astrid, heck, I would if it comes down to that. Anyways, the part about Heimdall and the Warrior's Three, well, maybe in the following chapters.

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Shout out to my signed reviews! You know who you are: **Code Musica, jlghighlander, 3WolvenDragon, SMr. Freeze, Lumen del Mari, TheFishKing, YmeYucca, DragonTrainerBoss, UnbreakableWarrior**

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**Disclaimer: Any characters mentioned are all under copyright. This work is purely fan-made.**

**Title: From Asgard to Midgard**

**Author: Scarabeye3000**

**Chapter 13: **_**'Assaulting the Mountain'**_

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Nargothrond

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The land surrounding Nargo Mountain is divided into two territories, one held by the Elves of Alfheim, and the other by the Dark Elves of Svartalfheim. Nestled in-between and bordered by great bodies of water, it divided the two passageways to the realm of both great civilizations. The Alfheim Elves, with their affinity to the light, music and songs, carved out a realm that embodied the natural ways in attaining perfection in beauty, arts, and of battle. However, one cannot have light and not darkness, the Svartalfheim Elves are a direct contrasts to the Alfheim ones. Whereas they embraced all manner of destruction, excessive practice of the dark arts, and known practitioners of the most twisted sense of pleasure. It is said that it is better to die in battle against the Dark Elves than be captured and enslaved, preserved beyond your years as an unwilling slave of pain and pleasure.

The reason for the division, is when the creator made the tree Yggdrasil, he had foreseen that this great tree would grow and encompass all nine _'intelligent' _realms, or worlds that have intelligent sapient species in them, however, he had not considered that the great tree would grow branches so intertwined with each other that they would sometimes cross against each other and therein lies the problem.

With the Great Sundering of the Eldar race and separation of the once united Elves that resulted into a damning civil war, the dark elves were all driven back to a world of darkness and shadows. A barren landscape of stone and devoid of lush vegetation, the Dark Elves made this their home and called it Svartalfheim. Armed with the knowledge and technology of their forebearers they launched raids and numerous warbands against their lighter kindred to survive in this desolate landscape. And so, to subjugate and minimize the raids to Alfheim territory by one of this glitch of the creator, the Fortress of Nargothrond was made.

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Acting as a great wall and divider between the two race, so similar in some ways, yet still different. Conceived and made with the help of the Dwarves of Nidavellir, the gigantic fortress spanned the whole stretch of the mountain. With two large gates fronting the two territories it acted as a gate that is held by the Alliance of Dwarves and Elves. It was besieged numerous times, but time and time again the allied armies managed to relieve the beleaguered defenders and push the invading army back into whence they came.

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But darkness cannot be so easily undone.

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On that fateful year, exactly a year after Hiccup's arrival in Asgard, the Dark Elves besieged Nargothrond once more. Emptying their Western Lands, the denizens of Svartalfheim poured forth out of their dimensional gate towards the mountain fortress. Led by a charismatic and cruel Archon, the Western Kabal that easily numbered into the hundreds of thousands attacked without mercy, burning and toppling the massive outer walls and battlements they laid siege on the gate for weeks. Attacking savagely they built great war machines that would allow them to scale the sheer cliffs where the gigantic gate house that has the control mechanism for the entrance to the mountain was located.

Some say it was fate, others say it was just a slight misfortune, but nobody foresaw that a determined attack to the only vulnerable part of the fortress could yield such tremendous losses.

Employing tactics garnered from millennia of raids, warfare and cruel upbringing the dark horde managed to crack a tiny sliver in the great armor of Nargothrond. As wave after wave of the vicious and unrelenting mass of wraith-like creatures attacked, they managed to capture the walled gatehouse and open the mountain fortress to their army. As the great mithril doors creaked open, their gears popping loudly, their hinges coming undone as centuries of not opening rendered them fixed to their hinges, all of the garrison inside Nargothrond rouse up and prepared to repel the invaders.

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However, they were not expecting a flood of monstrous drakes facing them in battle.

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Harnessing only what the Gods have truly damned, they managed to capture scions of the great drake Fafnir. Said to be cursed by the Gods with gold lust, its origins are far less from what is known. But these drakes, flightless beast that stood on two legs and claws that can grasp their prey while breathing fire was deployed in the thousands. In the head of the main Kabal, chained drakes were coerced to charge headlong into the numerous passageways and wreaked havoc in all manner of resistance by the dwarves.

Dwarves, naturally fearful of fire not coming from the mountain or their forge, broke and ran for cover at the first sign of a draconian charge. The Elves, who fought gracefully even under the cramped spaces and passageways was overwhelmed by the sheer number of the enemy. In a time of less than a year, the Dark Elves have taken the whole fortress and established a living colony after driving away the remaining defenders of Nargothrond.

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Defeated and broken, the survivors retreated to the elven gate near Alfheim. There, a mustering force commanded by King Freyr, the mighty, handsome king of the Eldar race held the darkness at bay. The Dark Elves marred the once lush landscape with their excess and wasteful personalities, they raised their pointed spires and black flags amidst the towering turrets of the iron gate leading towards the first chamber of Nargothrond. Day after day, raiders from Svartalfheim arrived like the plague as finally even the Elves grew weary of such harassment from their old kin and were beginning to be pushed back. The situation got more desperate as the attacks also included the so-called _'Fafnir Brood', _now sporting a vast array of multiple mutations that were inconceivable in the early days of the war.

That is until the former king of Asgard, _Lord Bor_ strolled into the Alfheim gates almost a year after the first gates fell. After abdicating his throne since the dawn of time, Lord Bor, Father of Odin journeyed extensively throughout the Nine Realms and beyond. Seeking to see what he helped create first hand, he sought the most unique things and entered a vast array of realms that the annals in Asgard had not even known. Remembering that an ancient entrance is somewhere in the Nargo Mountains to a fringe world of forgotten creation, he instead entered a realm of absolute chaos.

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It was just a millennium of leisurely stroll, that turned into a call for aid.

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With extraordinary speed, Lord Bor returned to Asgard and shook its halls awake. For the first time since he arrived in Asgard, Hiccup saw the former king of the Eternal Realm. With thunderous jubilation and festive mood, Bor walked up to the throne room as Odin stepped down from the pedestal and gave his father a small courteous bow. His voice a deep clear baritone, he looked around at the arrayed masses before him as Thor pushed through the throng to see his grandfather standing in their midst once more.

"Virkið af Nargothrond hefur fallið, álfarnir eru í bráðri hættu," ,(_"The Fortress of Nargothrond has fallen, the elves are in grave danger,")_ the voice of Bor carried through the vaulted ceilings and circled around to look at everyone's eyes, "Ég mun fara aftur til Álfheima með öxi minni til að taka þátt í bardaganum, ég krefst hersveit til að hjálpa mér, hver mun koma?" , _("I will go back to Alfheim with my axe to join the battle, I require a legion to aid me, who shall come?")_

Immediately, Odin raised the spear he inherited from his abdicated father and shouted in a loud voice, "Ásgarður í heild er með þér, taktu þitt val og lát það vera svo!" , (_"The whole of Asgard is with you, take your pick and let it be so!")_

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Lord Bor walked among the arrayed commanders and pointed to Thor, who stood up straight and looked at his grandfather in the eyes, "Þór? Er þetta þú sonarsonur mitt?" , ("Thor? Is that you my grandson?")

"Já, afi" , _(__"Yes, grandfather,")_ the addressed God flinched a little, "Truly, það hefur verið of langt síðan þú komst" , (_"Truly, it has been too long since your last return.")_

"Ah, sannarlega, það hafa verið aldir síðan mín gömlu augu hafa séð þig - þú hefur sannarlega vaxið í fínan ungan mann," , (_"Ahh, it has been centuries since my old eyes have seen you- you have truly grown to a fine young man,")_ joy was seen in the ancient face as he nodded in satisfaction, "Komdu nær svo ég geti séð þig skýrar- faðmaðu mig svo að leitt hjarta mitt huggast." , _("Come closer so that I may see you clearer- embrace me so that my weary heart is comforted.")_

Reluctantly Thor approached Lord Bor, the old one had his arms open and was gesturing him to quickly come to his arms. Reaching his grandfather, Bor laughed joyously as he embraced his grandson, everyone took note that the Mighty Thor's cheeks have reddened and was blushing. However, everyone stopped as the blonde haired God huffed and struggled in the arms of his grandfather.

Veins popped out as Thor tried breaking the old God's vice-like grip, Lord Bor's eyes suddenly turned wild as he squeezed the life out of his grandson.

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With Thor enclosed in his arms, the old King said in a loud voice, "Nú þá, helduru ekki að ég eigi skilið að fá afsökun frá þér Þór?" , _(__"Now then, don't you think I deserve an apology from you Thor?")_

"Hvað í Hel fyrir?" , _(__"What the Hel for?")_ the blonde God frowned innocently as a vein popped on Lord Bor's forehead.

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"SÝNDU AÐ ÞÚ SÉRT GLAÐUR AÐ SJÁ MIG, HÁLFVITA STRÁKUR!" Bor shouted as he headbutts Thor._ ("SHOW THAT YOU'RE HAPPY TO SEE ME IDIOT BOY!")_

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"Hverju bjóstu við að ég myndi geraaAA-ÁII!?" , _(__"What did you expect me to doOOO-OWW!?")_ Thor shouted almost in falsetto trying to headbutt his grandfather, the people around was stunned as Odin sighed exasperatedly. "Allt sem þú gerir er að lemja mig-agh! Slepptu mér heimski gamli maður!" , _(__"All you ever do is hit me-agh! Let me go stupid old man!")_

"Sýndu mér meiri umhyggju, HÁLFVITINN ÞINN!" , _(__"Care more for me you IDIOT!")_ Bones loudly snapped as Lord Bor comically showed his _tough love _to his more resilient grandson, "Jafnvel þó, ég vill vera elskaður af sonarsyni mínum!" , _(__"Even still, I want to be loved by my grandson!")_

"Þú kallar þessa bakbrjótandi aðferð 'ást'? Gamli maður!" , _(__"You call this back-breaking maneuver 'love'? old man!")_

"Ég skal brjóta bakið á þér enn meira, heimska barn!" , _(__"I'll break your back some more foolish child!")_ the old man hugged tighter but noticeably smiled, "Þú ert jafn veikur eins og þú værir enn hvolpur!" , _(__"You're as weak as if you were still a whelp!")_

"Þegiðu og slepptu mér gamli ræfillinn þinn- argh! Hryggurinn á mér er að springa!" , _(__"Shut up and let go of me you old fart- argh! My spine's popping!")_

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Hiccup noticed Loki was hiding behind a large urn that was adorned with numerous saga of ancient battles, he stepped next to his master and looked at him questioningly. The Master made a motion of silence as he spoke in a whisper, "Grandfather always gets cranky whenever Thor would not welcome him- he would crush us until he breaks our back, sometimes he throws us over the edge of the rainbow bridge, or if he's feeling lenient just punch us in the face sending us at least through three walls."

The Midgardian cringed, "That's some real tough love."

"You have no idea child," Loki tried blending to the wall and was succeeding with flying colors, "Now hush before he thinks about looking for me-"

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"Now!" Lord Bor's booming voice reverberated throughout the shining halls as he released an unconscious Thor, the Warrior's Three made no move to help as the former king walked around looking for someone, "Hvar er þessi veikburða litli álfa sonarsonur minn!" , _(__"Where is that frail little fairy grandson of mine!")_

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Hiccup looked scandalized as his master muttered curses under his breath, "Is- Is he- Is he talking about you master?"

Loki kept silent, his usual calm expression was marred by a single drop of sweat trailing down from his head. A reddish hue was partially hidden by his silver mask, but the young apprentice was taught how to observe the smallest of details. The Trickster God was tensed, which was unusual since he certainly kept his cool most of the time, but having their grandfather near made him feel like a child again.

After a few minutes of enduring the boisterous calls of Lord Bor, Loki in a display of brazen or foolish courage, stepped out of the shadows and looked directly to his grandfather. Feeling eyes on him, the old king met the younger God's eyes and his grin reappeared from his bearded face.

"Fela sig í skuggunum aftur, litli álfurinn minn?" , _(__"Hiding in the shadows again my little fairy?")_

"Of course not dear grand-daddy," he obviously lied, "-Ég var eingöngu að bíða eftir tækifæri til að kynna þig fyrir nemanda mínum.", _(__"-I was merely waiting for the chance to introduce to you my student.")_

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Hiccup felt his jaw slackened as he felt and heard heavy footsteps coming towards them. From his great archaic horned helm, to his bronze skin and white beard and hair, Lord Bor looked not the least bit of weak and feeble that most people perceive the advanced aged would look like. His skin was taut with hard muscles and his eyes burned with such intensity and vigor that he felt intense pressure as the gigantic old king approached them and finally look down at him.

Squinting his eyes a bit, Lord Bor said, "Hann er Miðgarðingur- hvað er hann jafnvel að gera hér? Hvað er hann að gera í þessum sölum?" , _(__"He is a Midgardian- why is he even here? What is he doing in these Halls?")_

"Because of a prayer," Odin stepped in as he knew his father's penchant for looking down on Midgardians, "a bit young to my eyes, but nevertheless, he had come upon here on the wings of a prayer."

Lord Bor sighed as he stepped away and looked back at Loki, "I trust that you would come with me, like your brother would?"

"Þú getur treyst á mig," , _(__"You can count on me,")_ the Trickster shrugged his shoulders and smiled beneath his mask, he looked at the prone form of Thor as Fandral began poking the listless body to see if he still lives, "-I don't know about Thor though."

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Gritting his teeth, Bor stomped towards the sleeping body and picked him up with one hand at the Thunder God's neck as he reared a muscular fist back, "VAKNAÐU HÁLFVITA SONARSONUR!" , _(__"WAKE UP YOU IDIOT GRANDSON!")_

"AHHHHHHH!"

Thor screamed in pain as Loki vanished from sight, a subtle grin evident at his brother's demise.

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Alfheim

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After much swearing, foul words and broken bones, the hastily mustered force of Asgard came to the fore and marched through the Bifrost chamber. Heimdall, with his gold and bronze armor gleaming deployed the army in formation as they arrived at the helm of another battle at Alfheim. Lord Bor went ahead to Nidavellir to assemble a dwarven host as Thor and Loki mustered the forces with King Freyr, on the plains fronting the ancient fortress.

The elven armies of Alfheim formed into groups of tens, then hundreds, then thousands as they marched ten abreast towards the mustering area. Calling upon their allies, the surviving garrison of Nargothrond, together with the committed Eldar warhost, and a contingent of Asgardian warriors taken from its noble halls. The combined army mustered on the foot of the mountain as the fallen fortress of Nargothrond looms in the distance. From the elven port city, they could see the sealed iron doors of the Alfheim entrance barred and fortified by the occupying army. Now, with the primary army assembled, all wait at the arrival of the reinforcements from Nidavellir.

Hiccup, now seen covered in his bronze lamellar armor and dark green livery steps behind a tall slender man, wearing a curved horned helm he walked quickly with the young man keeping in stride with two paces behind him.

They both headed to a large tent that was open so everyone could see it's occupants, the Mighty Thor was bent over a table as King Freyr, ruler of Alfheim and the Warrior's Three are already gathered and also waiting for their arrival.

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With a flourish Loki stepped up to the table and looked down at his brother. His blonde hair brushed back and tousled a bit, Thor grinned at Loki and Hiccup, "You are late."

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"I am never late, I arrive just at the precise moment when you need me brother," Loki replied removing his great horned helm, his half-mask though still concealing his face, "It seems you can handle the mustering of the forces without my guidance."

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"Keep telling yourself that and we- enough of this!" he exclaimed and gestured annoyingly for the black haired God to approach and pointed at the map set on the table before them, "Take a look at this... the surviving dwarven garrison that was pushed out of the fortress says the Dark Elves had no indication of attacking, yet they were completely taken by surprise at the force suddenly arrayed against them. Survivors tell of mutant drakes from the _Fafnir Brood._ "

"Those flightless monstrosities? Weren't they suffering from gold lust?"

"That is exactly why they attacked Nargothrond, its treasure trove is quite massive, you can practically swim in gold from what I heard."

"Interesting," Loki's eyes wandered throughout the map, "Have we tried probing their defenses?"

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"We can only hope that today we can assault the entrance-"

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"That would be next to impossible," King Freyr pointed to the gigantic door and to the whole mountain side, "The gatehouse of that whole complex is already a large fortification in itself, with a small opening that funnels to the large iron door in the middle. Thankfully, its the door facing the Alfheim side, which means we have more ways to access the lower entrances and secret passages that is usually used to bring in supplies or when the garrison is replaced."

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Thor surveyed the whole side of the mountain and pointed on a small lush outcrop that jutted just beyond the missile range of the main gate. "What about that entrance?"

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"That entrance leads to the catacombs," Freyr said as he looked appraisingly at the outcrop, "A small entrance was dug into the side of the mountain and has an old access door going inside the iron gate."

"So, if we assault that then we could take the gatehouse and the first living chambers?"

"-if we can open it, the army could pour in and do its work."

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Volstagg stood up and raised his great axe, "I nominate the Warrior's Three to head the assault on the catacombs."

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Loki laughed softly as all ears turned to the once silent god, "Clearly, you have only food as brains dear Volstagg-" the addressed man reddened but held his tongue, "the catacombs is a small place, a place where no conventional army can just charge into. It will need special skills to assault that entrance and hold it for a few moments."

"Are you implying that you'll be charging into the fray yourself?" Thor asked in disbelief, "You can't be serious?"

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"What do you suggest then? Knock using Mjolnir?" his brother simpered and smiled, "No, we use a hard hitting, fast and silent army. I'm sure Alfheim wishes to lead the assault since most of their kin are probably still trapped inside."

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"My kin are ready to attack anytime Prince Loki," King Freyr said and signaled for his adjutant to prepare, "Tell Exarch Haldir to prepare his coven, standard equipment- preferably close quarter battles."

As the adjutant left, Loki still not leaving the mysterious smile on his lips turned to Hiccup and said, "Tell the White Hand to prepare little one, and you will go with them."

Hiccup's heart hammered at the words of Loki, the White Hands are to Loki's, exactly what the Warrior's Three are to Thor. Whereas the Warrior's Three emphasize a balance of the three skills of a warrior, the White Hands concentrate on unconventional and underhanded tactics in battle. Sorcery and trickery, stealth and cunning, qualities they all emulate as granted by their patron God. From an inscrutable observer that quickly shifts to a hard-hitting force, the White Hands were the hidden hand of the Asgardians. Whereas the Golden Army under the command of Thor charge headlong into battle with glimmering shields and armor, the Dark ones fly no flag nor insignias, they don blackened armor made from the lightest materials, and carry the most exotic assortment of weapons and slay their enemies from the shadows.

Leaving the war council behind him, Hiccup quickly arrives at a tent that has a small patch of black sand in the entrance. No discerning flag, no liveries were flown, not even a guard was posted outside, in short the tent was quite incognito. Looking behind him to see if somebody followed, the young man pushed his way through the flaps and entered the large tent. Once inside, he saw seven other men, armed with exotic weapons and armors made from blackened steel. No one turned his way to get a good look at him yet their eyes followed his every move, discerning a familiar and trusted face, he was allowed to be near as all men relaxed their grips on their weapons.

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A pale ghostly face came to him as the others paid him no more mind, "Young Hiccup," the soft voice of the assassin reached his ears, "Does our master require our services already?"

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Putting his left hand on the pommel of his short sword and his right hand to his chest he bowed a little and met the face of Loki's deadliest servant, "Our master has elected the White Hands to assault the mountain entrance of the catacombs- information has been gathered that a fast, and silent force is needed to push forth and occupy the catacombs."

A large warrior stood up and carried a serrated sword that seemed impossible to even lift, "-just the catacombs?"

"Patience Rafiq," their leader waved him off and gestured for Hiccup to continue.

"Thank you, Master Kaldr, after taking the catacombs, we will push through towards the main gate and open the way for the Golden Army."

The addressed master rubbed his chin and looked on at the pointed outcrop of lush hills, he nodded and turned again to the young man, "Any reinforcements? Any other assistance?"

"The Eldar will go with the assault, since they are also concerned with their speed. Master Loki also bid me to come with you."

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At that word, the White Hand leader smiled coldly and nods his head, "Of course, it will be an honor to bring you on your first trial."

"I have no doubt I am ready," Hiccup also nods and meets the old assassin's eyes, "You have trained me well- I will not shame you or our master."

"When do we attack?" Rafiq, the large assassin stood up together with five others that were just packing their weapons a short while ago.

"Right now."

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Night quickly fell as Alfheim mustered quickly for the morning attack that would surely come, the Dark Elves still kept the great doors barred and guarded while the surrounding area crawled with patrols. The entrance to the catacombs held a small contingent of the enemy making sure that no one can gain entry to that side of the mountain. However, with numerous entrances dotting the Alfheim side, the defenders of the occupying army are stretched too thin and as such, the result is a small contingent to defend the hallowed grounds.

With a fire burning their meals for the night, the Dark Elves contingent camped at the entrance of the catacombs with a skeletal force of merely twelve defenders. Sending out patrols in groups of ten or less, the remaining Dark ones started camp, with the landscape still lush and fertile on this side, they had no trouble starting a fire and began settling down for the night.

"If only we have better bedding-"

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"-lokaðu kjafti þínum!" their leaders hissed, "Its bad enough that we're cooking with an open fire, now we have to send out patrols too, to cover our small camp since this cursed bonfire exposes us."

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"What would you have us do? Eat grass?"

Growling in frustration and annoyance the leader snarled back, "Ég sagði lokaðu kjafti þínum!" , _(__"I said shut your mouth!")_

"- but we haven't eaten nothing except maggoty bread for three stinking days!"

"That's why we have flesh now, good thing we got one of their scouts-" as he spoke he pulled out a sharp dagger and sliced off a piece of meat from a hanging elven corpse. It was still dressed in its war panoply and after being captured, toyed and tortured, he was killed and eaten, the poor scout's head resting on a grooved pike near the roaring flame.

"This scout is pretty young, his flesh is still supple," a mere shadow of their former beautiful selves, the Dark Elves only similarity with their light brethren is their long white and silvery hair. Gone is the fair skin, soft voice, and beautiful green eyes. Instead they only have sickly-white colored eyes and sallow skin, their teeths before we're even, now all changed to sharp fang-like appendages, "Shame, the patrols could not partake of this feast."

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Sounds of running feet suddenly rose up from the path in front of them and the camp listened intently, exploding into action the Dark Elves were quickly armed in a blink of an eye. Spears of thin make and swords of cruel shapes and odd sizes came out of nowhere as the first of the invaders came into view. Arrows pointed and nock at their drawstring as the Dark Elves encampment prepared to fire a volley, however, they hesitated as they saw their nine of their kin heading towards them.

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Now elves are silent beings, they can hear a whisper in the middle of a forest amidst a cacophony of sounds, they have excellent balance and agility. Seeing their kin and brethren towards them in full pelt run with all manner of noise meant they wanted to raise an alarm, so the archers hesitated as the frontrunner began shouting in a loud voice.

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"EKKI SKJÓTA HÁLVITARNIR YKKAR! ÞETTA ERU BARA VIÐ MAÐKARNIR YKKAR! EKKI SKÓTA!" , _(__"DON'T SHOOT YOU IDIOTS! IT'S JUST US YOU MAGGOTS! DON'T SHOOT!")_

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Panting and huffing the first and its companion arrived at the feet of their leader, or Exarch and bowed down in exhaustion. "Asgard- huff! Asgard marches- we saw Old King Bor march at the front- we huff! a- are doomed!"

The other runners came to rest in between others of their kin as the Exarch frowned at this information, he grabbed the panting elf and looked at its face, it's skin was warm to his touch from his exertion and it gulped lungfuls of air, "Segðu mér, hvert eru þeir á ferð? Talaðu fljótt!" , (_"Tell me, where are they heading? Speak quickly!")_

"Þeir munu herganga að aðalhliði fjallavirkisins-" , _(__"They- they march for the main gate of the mountain fortress-")_

"How about the others? Have you seen others? What about the other patrols? Answer me worm!"

Still huffing and catching his breath the runner took hold of his sword and plants it on the ground for support, "We only saw one patrol- but they were killed already. Not by our hated kinsmen, I assure you- Asgardians maybe, but their deaths are so mysterious, they didn't seem to have battled anyone."

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"Who could have done that?"

"-I'm not sure, but the tracks lead to this direction," the runner grabs the Exarch's shoulder for support as he stabilized himself to meet his eye leve, "We thought you were already attacked so we ran with haste back to the camp."

"Hvenar helduru að þeir muni koma?" , _(__"When do you think they will arrive?")_

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"They're already here."  
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White-sickly eyes met bright green eyes as the runner smiled and ran his sword through the stunned Exarch's armor. The other eight runners easily picked off their intended targets two at a time with surprise in their side as the Alfheim Elf stood over the slain Exarch. He walked towards the hanging scout corpse and cuts it down, he removes a miraculously clean cloth used by the savants of darkness and covered the exposed body with it. As he did so, a young man approached him and puts a hand on his shoulder.

"Við verðum að ýtast áfram í átt grafreitsins Haldir." , _("__We must push forward to the catacombs Haldir.")_

The addressed elf turned to the speaker and nodded, standing up they all gathered at the mouth of the catacombs and pried open the door. An eerie fog poured out from the depths as a cold draft of air lightly damped their exposed skin. Master Kaldr, with Hiccup by his side approached the entrance and dove right inside, followed by Rafiq and five other White Hands elite, and finally brought up by Haldir and his coven of elven warriors.

"They weren't expecting us."

"Yes, because they thought of only guarding the main gate- by the way, have Lord Bor arrived already?"

"Not yet," their voices were barely a whisper, so silent you have to concentrate and listen intently for the sound, "It seems he is still mustering at Nidavellir."

"Shall we shed our _Svartalfheim_ fashion?" a White Hand elite named Hrald gestured to the small, slightly skimpish Dark Eldar armor and liveries.

Master Kaldr shook his head, "No, it has served us well- it will serve us more once we reach the inside bastions."

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"I hear footsteps?" Rafiq's eyes were closed, but the hair on his arms noticeably stood on end, "I feel their steps thundering towards us."

Kaldr nodded and spoke no more, gesturing to the rest of the assassins and Hiccup, he melded in the shadows. Rafiq armed with his large serrated double handed sword, and another fighter named Rolf with his ornate spear joined the elven warriors in their trek. The rest, Master Kaldr, Hiccup and Hrald with the remaining White Hands melded in the shadows and followed from the roof of the caverns. Dotting the inside were old structures, crypts, edifices of those that have fallen for centuries defending the old fortress. Buildings standing almost two stories high, dark and forgotten, falling into disrepair, it was perfect as a road that the White Hands used like a normal person would use a dirt road on any day. Running full pelt with their soft padded boots, they virtually made no sound as they jumped, rolled and grabbed almost the ledge of every building they ran atop of. A skill that required agility, timing, and inhuman dexterity, the servants of Loki ran freely on the obstacle ridden structures.

The Elven warrior cadre ran softly towards the first bastion, as the White Hand kept up with them from the shadows.

Skills learned from the masters, Hiccup timed a jumped perfectly from a ledge and landed almost ten feet away to the next rooftop. Almost the same feelings as having Toothless with him. He regretted not bringing him along, unfortunately, stealth and speed is required for this assault and with the enclosed space, he could never hope to hide the large Night Fury, let alone make him fly in the cramped spaces and tight hallways.

However, if they could open the gates to the main cavern leading to the Alfheim Gate, he was sure that they could use his skill as a dragon rider in breaching the first fortification.

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Suddenly, Haldir and his cadre of Elven warriors stopped and gestured for silence. He felt constrained to move forward seeing that all is clear, and no enemy stirs in front of them. Knowing Dark Elves, they would have attacked by now, so this lack of excitement impedes him from moving forward. Silence doesn't generally mean emptiness in a battlefield, yet his elven eyes could not pierce the veil beyond the darkness. A body suddenly materializes in the gloom of the rooftops as its lifeless form was thrown from above, blackened armor and stained with blood the dark elf twitched its last and breathed no more.

_'Wha- ambush?'_

Noise of clashing blades came from the gloom of the rooftops as the White Hands encountered the enemy lying in wait inside the gloomy structures, hidden by the darkness from whence they came. Hiccup, never have slain anyone before did not have time to react as Master Kaldr drew his short sword and slashed something in the shadows. As if slicing a clothed veil in the air, it revealed a cadre of at least twenty dark elf, lightly armed but still dangerous to the unwary. Their sallow skin and cold demeanor made his skin crawl and he did not have time to think, is this right or wrong, does taking this life justify his survival.

There was no time to think, kill or die, kill or be sodomized, kill or lie in wait for your fate. The choice was relatively easy.

Without noticing Hiccup has already killed his first enemy, adrenaline pumping and his body hunched and ready to pounce again. He clearly saw the white creepy eyes widen as his short blade buried to the hilt, meeting his gaze he quickly pulled out and engaged another one using his free sword hand to slice the exposed neck. Surprised and not expecting an attack from the roofs, plus the White Hands were dressed for the occasion just like the Dark Elves would have dressed, they reacted sluggishly, and with their veil of concealment pierced and lost, the elven cadre led by Haldir showered them with arrow shots so precise that only the Eldar race could have done it.

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Within minutes, the last of the Dark Eldar ambush team was wiped out, Hiccup cleaned the blackened blood on his blade and turned his eyes towards his last kill. The dark elven face was youthful, still beautiful in a dark and dangerous kind of way, the hair glimmered in its silver strands and the eyes stared up into the dark ceiling vacant and unseeing. A large gash on her exposed neck gushed out blood and Hiccup shivered as the faces of the five elves he slew came rushing from the back of his mind.

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Gulping down hard the bile rising from his guts, he refocused his eyes and breathed continuously, a comforting hand grips him hard on his left and right and he saw two familiar hands. Master Kaldr and Rafiq both took a shoulder and squeezed hard, not one to show too much emotion, the two veterans steadied him as Hiccup's whole body was wracked with tremors. Shock, pain, and disbelief flooded him and he almost swayed where he stood, but the two White Hands did not let him go. They understood that he must endure, lest he bring shame to their master, complete mastery of emotions is a must to belong in the White Hands and Hiccup was no exception.

His whole body shook for a good minute until finally it subsided.

Rafiq released him and his face revealed a much older looking Hiccup, his eyes were glazed over and unfocused. Yet, one could feel the thrumming subtlety of his body as he began to realign his senses. Accepting that this had to be done to survive, nothing else matters for the moment, just survival under this hellhole that they all managed to dig their way into.

"Have you mastered your emotions already?"

The Midgardian replied, his soft voice barely a whisper and his eyes sharp as his blade, "Yes, I am with you now Master Kaldr."

"You seemed quick to adjust after killing your first living being-"

"I- I must survive," Hiccup's eyes remained unfocused, but his conviction is now firm, "-none may come between this."

"Good, move ahead and scout out the forward positions- root out any ambushes, and if you can- eliminate all threats."

"Understood."

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Rafiq and Hiccup vanished in a cloud of smoke as Haldir approached the White Hand coven leader.

"So, is he going to be alright?"

Kaldr sighed and looked at his lighter cousin, "I don't know- only the conclusion of this campaign would tell us for sure. But for now, I need his talents and skills."

Expecting no more ambushes, they make good time moving forward, and relying on their forward team to root out any other emplaced enemy formations along the way. The assault team finally reached the first living chamber and gaped at the sprawling city beneath them. The hidden entrance that they managed to infiltrate have led them to an old outpost that is located on top of the highest point inside the large chamber. The whole cavern was carved with intricate details of dwarven warriors at the ready and elven warriors beside them. The large pillars that held up the mountain span up to almost 100 feet high and carved with stoneworks that made them life-like trees, in deference to their elven brethren. Fewer torches light the cobbled streets as the gatehouse and the iron doors complex sprawled just below them.

Every house and dwelling on the living chamber seemed occupied as the Dark Elves housed their warriors on the outer fringes of the fortress. All civilians fled their houses as the invading army poured forth from Svartalfheim, with three large chambers that acted as towns inside the mountain, Nargothrond is supposed to be self-sufficient in maintaining a siege. With the two chambers guarding one gate each, and the last one housing a root of Yggdrasil including the fabled treasure trove, it would be a nightmare if the dark elves decided to occupy this fortress city like an extension of their realm.

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Hiccup and the rest of the White Hands stood on the edge of a ridge overlooking the first chamber and gazed down at the slumbering dark elves.

"They seem oblivious."

"As long as the iron gates remain sealed they need not be concerned of an attack, regardless, we must make a diversion and at least occupy their time as we attack the gate and secure it."

"Understood- Rafiq-" the large assassin approached their leader and bows his head, "-take Hrald and two of your choice men and attack the gatehouse."

The addressed one nods his head again and taps Hrald's shoulder, they quickly left after selecting two more and ran full haste towards the fortified gatehouse, Kaldr turned to the Elven Captain and said, "Remain here and cover our defense of the gatehouse from any attacks, but get them in place first before you unleash your volley. In case the White Hand fails, you have a chance to retreat and report of our failure to our masters."

Haldir went livid at the implied retreating tactics, "I would stand by you cousin- your kin might have joined the shadows, but I know you are of noble heart."

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"No, you must listen to me- for the greater good, you must do this," he turned away from the Elven Captain and faced Hiccup together with remaining assassins, "We must make a diversion- we cannot be detected so early into the ruse so we must slay them in their sleep-"

"Maybe- maybe we can use poison?" Hiccup suggested as Kaldr nods in affirmation, he turned to two White Hand members holding numerous vials on their belts, "Kaurava, and Portio, we need your most potent gas poisons-"

The two poisoners smiled beneath their face coverings, "We are ready lord."

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**To be continued...**

**Author's note:**

Eldar is another name for Elves, in case you're wondering. Lord **Bor, **according to Norse mythology is Odin's father.

Consider this a backstory for the Nargothrond mystery.

And it is getting longer for me to make an update. I apologize dear readers. I really do.

Plus, it might seem overdramatic, but killing someone- even in an accident, will really mess you up inside.

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Cheers,

Scarabeye3000


	14. Chapter 14

Guest reviews as of February 28, 2015

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Guest #1 : Thank you for the review, I really apologize for the long wait. It was kind of hard for me to decide what to do for the next chapter. Should I continue with the main story line or do a back story. Well, I guess the back story won in the end, plus I wanted to highlight what Astrid would have seen.

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Priecia (Guest) : I hope I don't give you a heart attack with all the surprises. Thanks for the review!

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Guest #2 : I really do apologize for this long due update, I was kind of busy. :p I hope you're not too mad.

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**Shout out to, SMr. Freeze (Arnar)** for his wonderful translations,** CodeMusica, and DragonTrainerBoss **for their signed reviews.

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**Disclaimer: Any characters mentioned are all under copyright. This work is purely fan-made.**

**Title: From Asgard to Midgard**

**Author: Scarabeye 3000**

**Chapter 14: _'Wake up... time to die.'_**

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**Nargothrond, Alfheim Chamber**

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"Why the hell aren't they attacking yet?"

A dark elf named Shagra, kicked some loose stones as he looked down from the fortified gatehouse. With Asgard and Alfheim mustering right in front of them, they could only look on as all waited for the inevitable confrontation. Right down the line the alert have gone down that an attack may come any time so they doubled the guards and isolated the gatehouse from the outside. Collapsing the stone bridge that the dwarves have hewn from the sheer rock face as the only access point to the gate house, they replaced it instead with a rickety bridge made out of wood whose gnarled and uneven branches make for an excellent obstacle course, made more challenging by being suspended more than 50 feet high near the roof of the chamber. From a garrison of sixteen soldiers, they were relieved of the eight more for the additional repelling force in case, the armies of Asgard threw everything at them tomorrow. Nevertheless, with less men, everyone worked double shifts and since they were fewer of them, there were less persons to talk about. He was both irritated and bored at the same time. He wished the something would happen, some excitement to break the monotony of guard-

Wait a second.

He peered just beyond the bend where the rudimentary draw bridge they made was currently nestled in. There seems to be a commotion happening, but he wasn't sure, they were armored like him and no army could have penetrated these gates that they were guarding. Wait, they seem to be having some fun- his loins ignited as he saw one of his kin drop his pants followed by his undergarments and have another of their warriors blow him.

_'Well, we can't let them have all their fun-'_

So without further ado, Shagra, with silent footsteps gently lowers the rudimentary draw bridge and steps out to_ 'confront'_ the mating dark elven warriors. As he walked closer, the back of the male elf was in front of him and he could easily that someone was kneeling right in front of him. His need and excitement clouded his judgement as he called out in a voice, hoarse by his shaking lips, "H- hey, what are you doing huh? Having fun?"

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The two copulating dark elf paid him no mind as he approached and lowered his spear, walking slowly and tentatively, "Come on my kin, share me some skinship."

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He was rubbing his hands together expectantly, blood rushing to his head as the long dark hair of someone that looks like giving head to the warrior flooded his eyes. Shedding all pretentious movements he rapidly walked beside the male elf and caressed the firm exposed buttocks. Sharing partners, either male or female is encouraged, promiscuity was tolerated and rewarded so approaching another warrior for sexual favors is pretty much the norm for them. But the supposed '_female lover'_ suddenly stood up and pushed a silvery dagger into his exposed midriff. A trickle of blood dripped down from the edge of Shagra's lips as he sighed and breathed no more, flopping down on the ground like a marionette, with its strings cut.

Rafiq removed the wig he was wearing and cleaned the blood from his dagger. Hrald, the _'male lover'_ tried to keep a straight face as he gives the larger man's sword back.

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"Will you stop laughing?" Rafiq hissed.

Hrald cleared his throat and failed mightily to keep a straight face, "I can't- hehe- I'm sorry Rafiq, I swear I would bring this secret to my grave-"

"I swear if you don't stop giggling I'll put you to the grave right now."

"You are a very beautiful woman Rafiq-"

"Cut it out you fool!" a vein popped out of the large assassin's head and he hissed, "Next time you be the girl who gets raped."

"It won't sell with the enemy," his jesting partner said as they made their way to the lowered drawbridge, " I'm very ugly and not as beautiful as you were."

"Shut up! We could have just gone with other ideas-"

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"What idea?" the two other members of their White Hand cadre appeared behind them as their snickering reached his ears, "I'm sorry Rafiq, but Hrald is right- you would make a beautiful woman."

His face was livid and his ears were burning, Rafiq turned and breathed deeply, "Let me remind the three of you that we are approximately 50 feet from the cave floor- don't make me drop _all _of you."

"Ok, ok you made your point-"

"-but you do remember that we had to use the memory stones right?"

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The large assassin's eyes widened and he looked scandalized,_ "Letse!"_ he hissed, "I honestly forgot about that- Lord Loki would see it!"

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Looking forlorn, Rafiq mounted the rickety drawbridge and made his way to the gatehouse, "Let's just get this over with," was he said as he drew his blade and approached the rest of the sleeping dark elf garrison.

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Smoke billowed from the numerous drain pipes and chutes as the white smoke deployed by Kaurava and Portio seeped outside into the fortified town. Made by dwarves to carry rainwater and expel carbon dioxide, the chutes and shafts removed the extreme humidity that came with underground dwellings. However, it also turned the innocent shafts into convenient canals of death. After starting a small fire stoked with as many firewood they could get their hands into, both assassins poured their concoction at the bonfire and a toxic smoke billowed from it. The noxious cloud made its way into the dwellings and killed silently and quickly.

With the white smoke covering mostly the lower points, Master Kaldr nods his head and Hiccup leads the way into the sleeping quarters.

Screams from the dying pierced the night air, as those from the lower grounds felt their throats constricted and their lungs gasping for air. Combined with the blades from Kaldr and Hiccup they sowed confusion and misdirection to the stunned and reeling enemy.

Hearing the commotion happening down below, the rest of the Elven coven took potshots from their perch as the men from the gate house braced themselves from the uncoordinated horde.

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Outside of the mountain fortress the Golden Army lie in wait as they waited for the signal that the covert attack managed to succeed. In the event, that it should fail, they would siege the mountain until its gates fell. With the combined armies of Alfheim and Asgard, together with the Prima Legion commanded by Thor himself, they marched their full strength towards the gates and managed to approach within a stone's throw from the main gate itself. Enemy scouts were all ambushed as the second part of the White Hand's covert offensive took place, with the primary force of seven White Hands operative assaulting and capturing the inner gate house, a secondary force sweeps outside to ambush any remaining scouts sent out by their enemy. With these employed tactics, they covertly pressured their enemy into a tight position, constricted and possibly unable to coordinate a coherent counter-attack. Putting the enemy in extreme distress and disarray, the main army then can surge forward and drive their enemies from their occupied positions.

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It was a very risky plan, yet subtlety was demanded for this fight. With the Dark Elves matching skirmish after skirmish of the Alfheim elves, the beleaguered army is demoralized and exhausted with the constant engagements with their enemy. The quick and easy victory is also aimed for boosting morale that would benefit the main armies, however, the unsung heroes that fight Asgard's battles in the shadows was not an easy pill to swallow, especially for Asgard's future king.

Yet, he trusted them to soften the fortifications, allowing the main army to easily deliver a wedge through the enemy's center and hopefully, sunder their enemy's coherency in battle, and scatter all standing forces from Svartalfheim. Thor, King Freyr and the Warrior's Three stood together in the armies fore as they debated whether to just proceed with the attack or wait for the signal.

"We should just scale the walls-"

Fandral sighed, he was exhausted with the constant muttering of his friend Volstagg and the stoic silence of Hogun, "Will you please be ever so kind to shut the hell up- and Hogun, please say something."

"What am I supposed to say? I'm waiting for Thor's command-"

King Freyr moved from his waiting spot and sidled next to Thor, "Mighty Thor, the hour draws near- dawn is almost upon us and the changing of the guards could not be stopped on all fronts. We are terribly exposed in front of this gate- should we begin the retreat?'

"No, I- I trust my brother Loki," the blonde God sighed as if he committed his life to a losing bet, "If he says his unit can open the gates, then they could open the gates."

"It is almost dawn, our army is hidden by the magic of our people- with the sun's rays bathing us in shimmering light, the enhancements would contrast with the natural order of things."

"Your point being?"

"Since we casted a shroud of darkness and concealment- we'll definitely stand out like a_ 'sore thumb'_ in the morning."

Hogun quipped, "That's not good."

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"I see something!" Volstagg, his great girth and size suddenly shot out from a prone position and pointed on one of the higher observation ports, it was the location for the gate house. Thor gave a small laugh as large popping sounds, and the noise of moving gears reached his sensitive ears.

"The Mountain opens its doors- everyone prepare for battle."

Rousing the men, their hearts lifting as the large iron gates creaked open for them. Shields banging, swords rattling, they charged and poured inside the mountain. The White Hands, doing their job superbly managed a complete disarray in the enemy's defenses, did their intended targets and basically allowed a swift and smooth assault.

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"The Gates of Hell had opened, fall upon your enemies _Sons of the Aesirs_!"

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With the Golden Army pouring inside the mountain fortress, Master Kaldr and Hiccup stood in front of a throne made out of skulls that probably came from both elven and dwarven heads. Sitting atop the makeshift throne is the Exarch responsible for the stewardship of the fortress, she was tied and naked, probably a remnant of her sexual tryst from the other night. Her blood staining the carpeted floor and her alabaster skin as the leader of the White Hands wiped his short sword clean. The young Midgardian looked on from the terrace as the whole first chamber erupted in a close quarter slaughter, unarmored and unprepared, the Dark Elves were routed as their leader lay bleeding in her quarters.

"We won Master Kaldr."

"Not really," the leader of the White Hands joined Hiccup at the terrace as he looked down at the systematic murder going on below, "There are two more fortifications that we must break open- we haven't even encountered those drakes yet."

"Maybe we can train one? Just like what I did with Toothless."

Kaldr laughed in a deep voice, the sound seemed devoid of joy as he looked at Hiccup squarely in the eye, "Toothless has a mind of his own, limited by nothing except his inability to fly by himself. The drakes however, they're a different story. No remorse, no hesitation, just survival and the animal instinct to slay and kill. No young Hiccup, I'm sorry to disappoint you- but these drakes cannot be trained."

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As the Golden Army took the Alfheim Gate, the passageways leading to the inner caverns howled as the enemy woke up from his slumber.

The mountain shook as an innumerable horde rumbled in the deep recesses of the fortress, Hiccup can only look at Master Kaldr as he wiped his sword clean. Portio and Kaurava arriving behind them as their leader headed towards the fighting.

"Well, we can't let the Golden Army take all the credit."

"Agreed."

"Hiccup, my right flank- Portio and Kaurava left flank and rear."

The four warriors moved as one as they launched themselves into the teeming fray.

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**Berk**

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Astrid's eyes fluttered open as sunlight filtered through her window curtains, she stretched like a cat and wiggled her toes underneath the furs to help wake the rest of her body. Her sleepy brain, obviously half-awake could still clearly remember the night she shared with Hiccup last night. Although it would have been nice without her parents intruding on a rather _'innocent'_ encounter with the Heir of Berk. She was still happy with the direction their relationship is taking, the unspoken vow for a commitment with no voice. It was a girly thing that she allowed herself the pleasure to experience, she couldn't believe herself that she would feel all these emotions at once in her life.

She was never conflicted, nor was she a mushy kind of girl. But his effect on her was teetering on the brink of insanity and illogical. Still she loved the way he respected her warrior spirit, he knew she could not easily give her discipline, her traits, her vows.

Oh, and a glimpse to the memory stone was breathtaking, it gave her enormous wonder, yet it also brought fear in her. If all she saw was real, and all those lives ended by his hands, then he wouldn't have gone and survived unscathed. Both physically and mentally, it would have affected him, yet she knew that memory she saw only scratched the surface of the whole battle.

The blonde Valkyrie shook all those things away from her head and sighed, she should get up and- wait a second.

Jumping off the bed, she walked barefooted towards the window and opened it fully. All of Berk haven't heard that bell for quite some time now, why in the world is it ringing continuously, and its coming from the Hill Lookout. Frowning in confusion she ran back to her bed and began dressing her battle attire, shoving her feet inside her fur lined boots, then quickly strapping on her armored skirt that most men hated, she took a washcloth then dips it on a basin of water near her bed and walks out of her room.

Taking her axe in one hand and wiping her face with the wet washcloth she made her way downstairs and saw her parents rushing back inside. As soon as they saw her, her father Bjorn ran to her and dragged her outside, "Astrid! Why are you still here!?"

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Confusion ran through her head, weren't they drunk the night before? What happened to the hangover? What is all this hostility- and it's so early in the morning. Where the hell is breakfast?

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"Is there an attack? What's happening!?

"Wake yourself up child," Bjorn exclaimed to his eldest daughter, "We have an emergency- the Burglars have left Berk."

Astrid was finally able to walk on her own and followed in her father's wake, her mother followed them with provisions packed in two small satchel bags. All around them the vikings were hauling weapons, food, even dragons were being used to prepare.

"Did they not say goodbye? I'm sure they have their reasons."

They were heading towards the docks she could see from the path they were taking where more Vikings were loading five longboats to the brim with provisions, food, weapons even tools for siege craft. Gobber with his mount, Grump was armored for battle, including the Chief's own Skullcrusher, the rest of the riders, Snotlout, the twins and Fishlegs were already mounted and beginning their pre-flight last check on their dragons. Stormfly lingered nearby as Toothless lied down with his head on his paws.

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"Are we at war already?

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Bjorn turned to her daughter and sighed, "Astrid, the Bog-Burglars have left and they brought-"

"ASTRID!" the booming voice of Stoick reverberated throughout the docks as everyone turned to look at him, "What's taking you so long!?"

"What's happening Chief?" she asked still bewildered.

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"Hiccup is gone!" the Chief strapped his war hammer on his belt and mounted Skullcrusher, "The Bog-Burglars took him, they disabled our ships to prevent us from following and they took Hiccup with them. Now mount up and pursue them, you and the rest of the first riders are the fastest, we will be following as soon as I mustered enough riders to obliterate them all in the waters."

"Stoick, what about the boats?"

"Load them and wait for my call- if all goes sour we would invade the Burglars island and burn it to the ground."

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_'Holy Frigga!'_

Astrid's mouth dried and her heart skipped a beat, the thought of losing Hiccup was unnerving for her. It was like a gush of cold water was poured on her head, and she was so stunned to even scream about it. Then she finally breathed, her last one held for the news was simply too much for her. White blinding rage overtook her as she realized the treachery they were all served today by their supposed allies. Her knuckles turning white, she grabbed her ax with a death grip and approached Toothless.

The Night Fury raised his head and looked at Astrid quizzically, "Don't worry, I'll go get him-"

As if understanding what she said, the black dragon approached her and she held the large black head giving him an affectionate scratch behind his ear. As she scratched however, something caught in her fingers and she stopped, pulling it so she can see what it is. She saw a piece of paper tied by a string near Toothless's ear, her rage somewhat dissipating, she removed the string and unfolded the paper. The writing on it made Astrid's eyebrow raise, _'What in Thor's-'_

There was no mistaking the neat handwriting on it, it was Hiccup's.

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_"Pull left red lever on Toothless's harness for single flight."_

_._

Intrigued by the letter, she found, Astrid quickly groped for a _certain_ lever on Toothless' harness. A freshly painted red lever jumped out in her vision as she have never seen this before, even in passing. This was a particularly new part of the Night Fury, shrugging her shoulders she pulled on the lever and Toothless's artificial tail fin unraveled without no obvious directing from Hiccup.

Warbling in delight, the black Night Fury jumped in the air and pumped his wings mightily. Quickly gaining altitude he made a beeline towards the clouds as he left Berk behind him.

Stunned with him flying alone, and no obvious assistance from Hiccup, she quickly mounted Stormfly with a grim determination and pats the dragon's tough leathery side. Her spines bristled as she felt her human friend's agitation and emotion.

"Let's fetch him girl."

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Meanwhile

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Hiccup simmered as the bow of the Bog-Burglars flagship beached on the small sandbar, it was one of the small islands that vanishes at high tide. Three longboats jostled in the slight wind as the Uglithugs emissary, a squat, toad faced man he could not even remember seeing nor relish in thought opened his arms in welcome. Big-Breasted Bertha walked up to the bow of her ship and disembarked, Kalina still wounded but able to carry out her duties dragged Hiccup from the main mast and stood him up so the emissary can see him clearly.

"I see you were somewhat successful."

The Heir of Berk almost cringed at the sound of the emissary's voice, it was like a croaky, gravely sound, a complete sync with his own face. He could only shook his head in his mind, this just keeps getting better and better.

"Well, it was not easy- our champion was hurt in the process, but we managed to accomplish our job." Bertha approached, her artificer spear head made by Hiccup already mounted on her old spear shaft, "Now, we demand payment for the job we have done."

The emissary waved his left hand and four hulking Uglithugs came down from the beached longboats carrying a heavy chest between them.

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"As payment for reconnaissance, and for obtaining the Heir of Berk, one chest of golden treasures and gems as promised."

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Two Bog-Burglar amazons came forward and dragged the chest heaping with treasure towards their leader, Bertha smashed the lock with her spear end and a wide variety of treasures greeted her eyes. Gold coins, trinkets, scepters, cups and plates, numerous gems of green sapphire, blue emerald, and red rubies twinkled in the light of the sun. Other artifacts made of silver, aluminum, and idols to the gods also included in the chest were strewn here and there. The variety is quite endless, and a stunned silence greeted all of the Burglars.

Composing herself, the Chieftess signaled for Kalina and she complied. Dragging Hiccup to his feet, she made her jump off the bow of the ship and land himself at the sandy shore. With his escort right behind him, the Heir of Berk approached Bertha who met his eyes with her own.

"You traitor- we had a deal."

"They pay better kid," Bertha said shrugging her shoulders, she turned to the Uglithugs and nods her head, "You can take him now, I'm pretty sure the Berkians are coming for our island by now."

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"The Uglithugs and Lavalouts..." the toad emissary leered at her as one by one they boarded their flagship, "... appreciate your efforts.

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"Lavalouts? I thought it was the Meatheads?"

The emissary laughed with his croaking voice, "Well, we can't really rely on them- they've had reservations about this and they currently took a back seat on the Coalition," no matter how hard the Uglithug tried to look amicable and open, he still exuded a menacing aura that's quite hard to shake off, "I assure you Chieftess Bertha, the Meatheads are still part of the Coalition."

Still unsatisfied, Bertha nods her head and boards their longboat leaving Hiccup at the mercy of the Uglithugs. The four warriors that brought the treasure approached him and took him by the arms, they made him walk towards the emissary and the toad-like man began pleasantly, "We have so much to talk about Favored of the Gods, but first-"

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The male emissary approached him and stroked him in the face, "-I do love the roguish type in a man. Almost perfect, would have been better without the peg leg- still we shall see how you scream being tied up in my chambers."

Hiccup shuddered as he heard the night plans of the emissary, _'This is the Athenians fault- all about boy loving and less balls, no wonder Sparta kicks their asses. Thor almighty- it's like the Dark Elves Sodomy all over again.'_

As the Uglithugs began molesting Hiccup, Big-Breasted Bertha sounded the horn and her ship shoved off towards deeper water. Camicazi looked on from the bow as she noticed Hiccup's arms were already at his sides.

"Mother?"

"Yes Camicazi," Bertha took a seat on an ornate chair, she felt exhausted, Hiccup was truly extraordinary to do this. To be left in the midst of the Uglithugs, without no weapon to defend himself. May the Gods forgive her.

"It's about Hiccup-"

The Chieftess sighed deeply, "Daughter, forget him- its nothing like you can do something about him for now."

"I know, its just that- he somehow managed to cut his bonds."

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"What!?" Bertha shot up as Kalina followed her, the Burglar's ship was already a few meters away, yet they could clearly see that his hands were no longer bound with the thick rope. He was conversing animatedly with the Uglithugs and they seemed unaware of his freedom, "How did he do that?"

Something glinted from his hands as Hiccup moved and shoved his two captors on the neck.

"I'll be damned," Big Bertha shook her head as she barked orders to quickly distance her ship to the sandbar.

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"So, you made a Coalition with the Bog-Burglars, and the Meatheads- including those cannibals?"

The emissary licked him in the exposed skin of his upper arm and his skin positively crawled, "Actually, it was the Lavalouts- your so-called cannibals that inspired us to do what we had to do. Our fearless leader Ug managed to form an alliance with them so we can crush Berk and have you all for ourselves."

"How flattering? All this pretentious and futile things just for me- I don't think I'm worthy of the attention."

"Oh, you are more than worthy of the attention, for example, your slaying of the deranged Dragon God-"

"He's not a God, he has no idea of the Gods that he implies himself to be."

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The four guards stood in a perfect square around him as the emissary circled as if reviewing his price, "I'm sure Ug will have you doing something for the Coalition, but before we reach the Coalition it would be a 2 day journey by ship. So we can enjoy ourselves fully and get to know each other."

"It can't be that far?" Hiccup asked innocently, he acted coyly in front of him as the four guards looked uncomfortable at their leader's actions, "I don't want to suffer too long you know. By the way, what is your name?"

With his sallow skin and toad-like face, the man-loving emissary laughed a little as he introduced himself, "My name is Grug, cousin of Ug the Uglithug- I am what the Greeks call, _'filanthropos', _a lover of man."

He laughed and simpered like an old maid as Hiccup almost gagged at the obvious indifference of the squat little man, _'This guy needs to recheck on his books- he just raped the meaning of philanthropy in the face.'_

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Grug walked towards the long boats barking orders left and right, "Now, we set sail first to Uglithug island and then to headquarters- you four," he turned towards the guards standing around Hiccup, "Tie him securely and bring him to my cabin."

"Oh Grug, one last question before we go-"

The emissary sighed and looked patiently at him, "Of course lover, any other you would like to know before we hit the sack?"

"How are you so sure that I won't resist your _'loving'_ since I obviously don't swing your way."

"You cannot resist, being hog-tied is one way to ensure obedience you know."

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"Oh yeah! I'm tied up..." Hiccup smiled a goofy grin as he puts a hand on his hip, and scratched his head with the other as all five Uglithugs stared at his already free hands, "heh... would you believe that I almost forgot?"

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With stunned disbelief, the four hulking Uglithug guards were unable to react in time, even Grug was at a loss of words. They can see no weapons, no blades, yet he was free, so the first two had no reaction when he simply extended both his arms and pushed them each in the neck with his open palms

The first two guards dropped dead, the other two still staring in disbelief.

"What are you two standing around for!?" Grug was the first to wake up, he shouted in desperation at his bumbling guards, "GET HIM!"

As the remaining two turned to face him, they simultaneously drew their swords, but Hiccup simply stepped forward and pushed both guards in the middle of their chest with his open palm. The two guards immediately stopped moving and crumpled to the ground where they stood gasping for air and coughing blood.

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The emissary looked panicked, the other warriors on the long boats seemed unaware of the- where did he get those swords?

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Hiccup now clutched two swords, the same swords that were drawn by the last two Uglithug warriors. As they crumpled in a heap, the Heir of Berk simply grabbed their weapons from their slackened grip and straightened up. Grug took an involuntary step back as the young man he was molesting awhile ago, took down four of his guards in less than a minute and was now running towards him.

Wait! Running-

A fierce kick sent him to the ground as Grug gasped for air, his vision tumbled and spun. As he lay flat on the ground, he saw a sword coming down on the ground and a sharp pain on his left shoulder.

"AHHH!" he screamed as Hiccup impaled him to the sandbar with the two swords on both his shoulders. His blood mixing with the sand, staining it a dark red.

"Don't be such a baby-" the Heir smacked him in face jolting his mind to focus, "-you brought this upon yourselves anyway."

"Y-you think you have won? I still have three longboats full of warriors," a loud shout and cheering from the boats brought a forced laugh from his lips, "It seems like my men are coming for you now."

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A distinct whistling sound was heard, as if something falling from the sky. Terror washed the face of Grug as Hiccup opened his arms wide and stood up with a serene look on his face.

"What's that?" the emissary's voice was like a squeak, it was so small and forced, "Let me go! What was that?"

Hiccup leered down at him, his green eyes flashing dangerously as fire exploded all around them. Screams of dying men, burning in anguish and despair reached their ears as something large and black made a passed over their head followed by a very _'dragonesque' _roar. Another round of explosions thundered around them as Hiccup hovered over him and twisted one impaled sword opening his enemy's wounds further.

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"That my friend is the sound of my reinforcements."

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Grug looked in absolute horror as a black Night Fury landed loudly near them with a thud, sand flying everywhere as it touched down ungainly, its sleek black leathery skin almost reflecting the sunlight. It's green eyes, the same as the color of the young man's leered dangerously into slits, its fury barely contained by its tough dragon armor.

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**To be continued...**

**Author's note:**

Sorry for the delays, next update we will still continue to the main story line.

Read and review guys, a little motivation helps a lot.

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Cheers everyone,

Scarabeye3000


	15. Chapter 15

**Reviews as of 3/4/2015:**

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Guest #1 : Thank you for the review! I'm glad you're not! :D

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Shout out to my signed reviews! You know who you are: **jlghighlander, SMr. Freeze, TheFishKing, DragonTrainerBoss, **

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**Disclaimer: Any characters mentioned are all under copyright. This work is purely fan-made.**

**Title: From Asgard to Midgard**

**Author: Scarabeye3000**

**Chapter 15: **_**'Alliances are made to be broken'**_

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Small sandbar off the Isle of Berk

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"That my friend is the sound of my reinforcements."

Grug gasped as the young man gripped his sword and began jostling it left and right like a plaything. The sword went through his chest, out his back and into the ground. There was an excruciating feeling in his shoulders and by no means is it lessened with a snarling black dragon beside him. A deep rumbling growl escaped from his lips, as he snarled angrily at his friend's would be captor.

"What is it you want?"

Hic grinned dangerously down at him, "Information... about the Coalition."

The black dragon sat next to him as the three burning longboats drifted away from the shore, the smell of burning wood and flesh permeated the air mixed with the smell of the sea as the emissary whimpered at his situation. The Bog-Burglars was probably in this too, oh mighty Thor- if he ever spills his guts his cousin would skin his ass. Suddenly there was a loud roar and a loud thud came from behind him, without even looking behind him, the Heir of Berk smiled and said, "How nice of you to come get me Milady... I am honored."

Astrid Hofferson strode forward, her braided blonde hair flying in the wind, her ocean blue eyes blazing in fury as she looked straight at his eyes. Stormfly walking behind her as she held her ax in one hand and headed for the waiting Viking. She had that certain look on her face that seemed she was planning something, so Hiccup stood up and opened his arms in greetings,"You're as radiant as ever- Why I can't imagine the time that- OWWW!"

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The fuming young woman smacked him in the side of the head with the blunt side of her ax, Toothless shrugged it off and concentrated instead to their prisoner, making sure he made no sudden movement. As the world spun around him, he vaguely heard other voices as he exclaimed, "Odin's beard- why would you do that?"

"That was for making me worry thinking you were abducted-" she then dropped down on his stomach using her elbow on his solar plexus as he cried out in pain, "-and that was for making me think you _really_ were abducted!"

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"Congratulations, you just killed one of my kidneys," he gasped for air as Astrid scrambled to get away from him, her ever-present scowl not leaving her beautiful face, he grinned sheepishly as he stood himself up, "so uh- what gave it away?"

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_"Pull the red lever for self flight,"_ her eyes were slits as she poked him in the chest, "You were planning this weren't you? And you didn't even care to mention it to me last night? You bastard- I woke up and find the whole village preparing for war, and you abducted by that... that blonde haired bimbo!"

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Hiccup opened his mouth to speak, but stopped midway through it. He took a deep breath and asked, "A- are you jealous?"

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**WHAM!**

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."Shut up!" the blunt side of the ax found the side of his head again as he almost lost consciousness, "I am not! Now, lie down there and stay there- shut your mouth or I swear I'll use the sharpened end of my ax and hit you repeatedly. Understand?"

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The Heir of Berk didn't reply, but gave her a thumbs up while lying down on the ground. She then turned to the other riders huddled to one side of the sandbar, as one all flinched as she meet their eyes. "Fish, Snot, tie our prisoner and wait here- reinforcements should arrive any minute now, twins we'll go after the Burglars and-"

"No! You will do no such thing..." Hic stood up quickly and rushed to her side, "...without me. There is something that must be done so everything falls into place," he mounted Toothless and they were airborne in a few wing beats. He felt two dragons sidle next to him as a pointed look literally threw daggers through the back of his head.

_'I am so afraid to talk- and so afraid to turn my head... but here goes nothing,' _Hiccup looked at his side and saw a still frowning Astrid, he tried not to cringe as he smiled a little, "Astrid, milady... I'm sure you're mad at me-"

"You got that right!"

He cringed but continued, "I apologized for that, but I want you to know that if you please just trust me, then I'll be able to explain all this craziness. Will you do as I say when we go after the Bog-Burglars?"

She kept silent and stared straight ahead, she was probably contemplating and a hard nod was his only answer. "Thank you milady. Now, when we go after the Bog-Burglars we need to at least cripple their ships-"

"-that's a given."

"-and abduct Camicazi."

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His eyes only saw shock appear on her face as blood rushed through her head, livid with confusion and anger, "What the HEL do you MEAN abduct Camicazi!? Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III what is this nonsense you're telling me!?"

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"That's just it, I have a plan and you promised to cooperate with me," he playfully admonished her as she stopped talking and seethed silently at his guile, "They're over there I can see them. Twins!"

"Finally he calls us!" the twin walking catastrophe known as Ruff and Tuff sidled to his other side, "Got any plans?"

"I'm making it up as we go along-"

"-Aha! My kind of plan-"

"- shut up and let him finish idiot!" Ruffnut smacks his brother's helmet down to his eyes, "Shall we destroy their ship?"

"Heavens no, what I want is for both of you to cause mayhem in their escort boat," he gulped as the twin's eyes glinted dangerously, "But... but try not to get anyone killed. Please, I _seriously_ mean it."

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Both twins nods their head, trusting that Ruffnut would rein in his more crazier younger brother, he then turned to a still somber looking Astrid. Thor's hammer, he knew that Astrid would not accept just an explanation like that, but she trusted him still so she haven't left his side. Feeling his eyes on her, she met him and was stunned.

A soft smile graced his lips as he mouthed the words, _'Thank you, be careful.'_

He felt vindicated as he saw the young woman's cheek blush red in harassment, she hid it by tying her leather windbreaker up to her nose. Confident that she got his back, he ushered Toothless to fly faster into the clouds to hide their approach to the fleeing Burglars.

After a few minutes of flying Hiccup saw two dots on the horizon as he pointed to his companions, gesturing to himself he pointed upwards and both the twins and Astrid nodded in understanding. Urging Toothless to fly even higher, he dropped close to the dragon as he ascended to even greater heights.

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Astrid and the twins nodded at each other and began their descent for a fast dive and a quick strike on their enemy's ships.

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Big Breasted Bertha sighed as she looked forward on the bow, the events are Berk were pretty crazy. In the two days that she spent at their island, was one of the most rewarding thing she could have done for her own Chiefdom. However, the betrayal leaves a bad taste in his mouth, but so far, all their plans are going smoothly. Hiccup is probably very mad at her now, but what can she do, it was a Coalition that she was just offered a piece of. A small part she was sure since she didn't even know that the Lavalouts were already part of it, or they may even be the one behind it.

There was so much uncertainty that she was forced to act the way she was not used to, but all in all, she only wished her people would not-

"DRAGONS!"

She was jolted out of her musing by the cry of the watcher, Kalina was quickly on her side as every warrior drew bows and spears to defend their ship. The Chieftess ran to the side of the ship to take a look, and true enough, two dragons came streaking towards them. It was the Hofferson child given the blue yellow Nadder, and the twin catastrophe with her. But where was the young man that she so wanted for her daughter? Last time she saw he was free from his bonds and-

"NIGHT FURY!"

A cry on the bow made her rush to the front of the ship as they all heard a cracking sound from the heavens followed by a distinct whistling sound of a large falling bomb. Then they all heard more whistling sounds as the Night Fury stopped his dive and began circling around them. All around their area balls of blue plasma exploded barely missing the ships, but spraying the sides and front of the longboats with sea water. Terror swept through the two sea vessels as their pursuers caught up to them.

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"Kalina, bring the bow about and prepare the ballistae- arm the bola launchers, then signal for the other ship to come about and separate," Bertha shouted over the din of explosions sent by the circling dragons, "-if we stop the ships we are a pretty large target for all of them."

"Aye Chieftess!"

With her orders progressing further she kept her gaze on the black Night Fury that is just above the range of their launchers. Damnation, gravity always works against them when it comes to dragons, the Hofferson girl was also circling albeit on a lower altitude while the Zippleback commanded by the twins zigzagged between the ships. An organized came about from the ship as Bertha took command of the vessel, all hands were woken up as an attack on their ship warranted each and everyone's attention.

Another explosion rocked the side of the ship as the Chieftess exclaimed, "Camicazi! Where is she?"

"She's at the stern bola launcher-"

"Good, make sure she's got a few defenders... some shields if you can quickly get them."

Another whistling sound made them look into the heavens for the bombarding black dragon, but they only see a black blur hurtling towards them. Kalina and the rest of the warriors looked on as Toothless opened his mouth and out spew five blue balls of plasma.

"Get down!" Screams and explosions mixed in the din as the Night Fury expertly aimed for the bow, the main mast, the great sail and the catwalk towards the stern at the longboat. Thankfully, the Burglars flagship was made of stronger materials and the ship held steady in the midst of the onslaught. Some warriors went overboard as blue plasma exploded on the top levels while others raced to contain the small fires on the bow of the ship.

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The other ship was not faring better as Astrid and the twins kept dive bombing the escort ship. Already it was visible that the ship's wheel was already crippled as it lay broken on its side while its main sail burned with such intensity it could not be saved nor salvaged. The defensive weapons could not be used properly with everything strewn about as the secondary ship began to list on its side.

Bertha rubbed her head as she looked around her flagship, damn, it definitely took a beating.

She was supposed to focus on her people now, but that whistling sound- where was it?

A large upheaval on the stern suddenly threw her almost three feet in the air as each and everyone on the longboat felt something heavy, come board at the end of their ship. Like a seesaw, they were partially thrown in the air and off of their feet. More screams as she tried looking over the haze of smoke and flame.

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A black Night Fury just landed on the stern of their boat, snarling and roaring in its magnificent fury at them. With a tremendous swipe of its large tail it cleanly broke off the steering wheel of their ship as its occupant swiftly jumped from his mount and tackled her daughter.

Wait- tackled her daugher?

"CAMICAZI!" with a guttural war cry she heaved herself from the debris of numerous barrels, ropes and chipped wood as she saw Hiccup grab her daughter, easily incapacitating her with a blow on the side of the neck. She was livid at what she witnessed and she ran through the burning planks of her ship to get to her daughter's side. But Toothless was ready, his wings were folded and his back was in front of her. Seeing that the dragon have not noticed her, she launched herself using the forward baluster separating the stern with the middle of the deck with her spear aimed down to her intended target. As soon as she was in range however, the black dragon's wings opened in a blink of an eye, clipping her on the side of her head.

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The sound of flapping wings was lost on her as another upheaval rocked their ship. Kalina was beside her at once attending to her wounds. Her vision still spinning, she could only see a black blur carrying off her daughter into the sky. She cried out in pain and desperation before falling unconscious from the blow that the Night Fury gave her.

"It's OVER! OVER!" a voice cried out over the din, "Pull back you two! Pull back!"

All attacks ceased from the marauding dragon riders as their prize was safely aboard the Night Fury and his rider. They zigzagged in flight while constantly increasing their altitudes, the twins suffered minor burns which was their style, while Astrid's frown intensified when she saw where was Camicazi tied to.

Their prisoner, unconscious and yielding to his every move, lay sprawled face down on his lap as Hiccup rubbed a sore part of his shoulder. She silently seethed as they continued their hurried journey back to the sandbar.

"I sure kicked their asses."

"Do you mean we?" Ruff smacks his brother in the helm with her fist, "My dragon is attached to you moron- so it's definitely we."

"-duh! Isn't it obvious we're twins?"

Both Thornstons tried smacking each other in mid-air much to the exasperated sigh of their two headed dragon. Astrid unsheathed her ax from her back sling and pointed it to the two bickering riders, "Stop it both of you!"

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They immediately stopped as they saw the sandbar with two more additional longboats anchored near it. The burning longboats of the Uglithugs was somehow rescued, but two of them seemed crippled and irreparable. The rest of the survivors of Toothless's initial bombardment made it ashore only to welcome the Chief of Berk in his full armored glory, with two longboats for support full of snarling and very pissed off Berkians. Cheers from below as the Berkians saw that the Heir was safe and sound, and not only that, was currently bringing a prize with him.

However, almost all cringed at the sight of Astrid's sour expression.

The marauding Riders landed softly at the sandy ground as Stoick the Vast stood from speaking with the Uglithug emissary.

"Son," his voice exuded extreme relief at the sight of his son landing nearby, "How are you?"

"I'm okay father, I managed to obtain a hostage so they won't hastily think of retaliating."

"Good, now how about these Uglithugs?" the Chief gestured with his war hammer at the tied up group, "Shall we blood eagle them?"

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The whole Uglithug group shook and shivered, the mere thought of enduring the most painful ritual of passing in Viking society tends to make even the most hardened warrior's skin crawl. But it was the emissary's voice that cried out that both father and son focused on, he was still lying down in the sand, with his wounds somewhat dressed and less bleeding from awhile ago.

"Well now," Hiccup began, his voice taking a cold and sinister tone, "Shall we have some words dear Grug of our current predicament?"

Stoick took a step back as he look at his son, a cold dread stabbing into his psyche as he observed him slip into the same dangerous individual he saw in the arena. A being of high intelligence, trained and honed by years of battle, and of course, the scars to show for it. He rubbed the hilt of his weapon, his nervousness also evident by the silence of those who were with them.

"I want you to see where we are now Grug," the Heir began pleasantly, his manners both impeccable and faultless, yet an underlying savagery with his carefully picked words, "I wish for you to understand how we _'feel'_ or our emotions of being in this situation that your Coalition have forced us into."

"My people, the Berkians have just weathered an attack by an insane warlord, as it is, we are both joyful and weary," he stood up and sighed for effect, gesturing for an Uglithug prisoner to be brought forth, he waited as the captive was seated in front of the two of them before continuing, "Now, I would like to respectfully ask, who started the Coalition?"

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Silence as Grug bit his lower lip, whimpering cowardly as a dagger came out of nowhere from his hands.

"No answer dear Grug?"

Hiccup's voice almost slithered out of his tongue as the silence stretched on for another minute. Suddenly, the dagger was thrust forward on the Uglithugs chest as he gasped in surprise, still bound and gasping for breath, the Heir of Berk tipped him over to the emissary who gasped in horror at the sight of one of his bodyguards dying slowly on top of him.

"OK! OK! It was the Lavalouts! The Lavalouts all the way! They have a new Chief, and I haven't even known who that is, I swear to the Gods!"

As the emissary kept babbling, Hiccup straightened and gestured to another prisoner, much to the horror of his father. When had his son became this- this cold-blooded? As another was brought forth, he was about to step in between but was stopped by his son's hand.

His back to Grug, he mouthed to his father, _'Trust me dad.'_

Backing down and his prisoner brought forth again, he then grabs the tied up prisoner at his long hair and hangs him over Grug to look his eyes upon.

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"You lie Grug."

"I- I'm not- It's the truth!"

The eyes of the prisoner was filled with terror and fear, its gaze was glazed over and unfocused, pupils dilated with shock as the still bloody dagger lingered again near his throat.

"Is your knowledge worth more than your brethren?"

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"No, it's the truth-"

"-do I look like someone you can fool?"

"-no, but its the tru-" the pleading eyes locked into him. He remembers him now, his name was Garm.

"-then tell me the truth!"

"-but it is the truth," the eyes shook with fear.

"Who is the leader of the Coalition?"

"The Lavalouts new Chief!"

"Give me a name!"

"I don't have a name! Please don't-"

The dagger glinted in the sunlight as cold dread filled his soul, was it really worth his silence for someone he haven't even seen yet.

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"Give me a name, or his blood will be upon your head!"

"Ok! Ok!" he screamed out loud as the Uglithug prisoner sighed and forced his breath out in one heave, "We have not even met him- but they call him _'Cythrax-'_

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"Bladetongue?"

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All eyes fixed on Hiccup, even Grug and the Uglithugs group looked at him in wonder. How did he know? Stoick frowned and looked at his son. His son was pale and seemed to be contemplating something in his mind, at last, he moved and turned to him.

"Father, we must go now- I have to speak with our Council, we do not need further time here."

Snotlout, his chest still not bound by armor, but obviously can safely ride spoke, "What about the prisoners?"

The Heir fixed them with a contemptuous glare and said, "Let them go, including Grug- consider this mercy with the information you have given me. We will leave you your lives, one of your longboats and ample provisions so that you may _'survive'_ the journey back to your own lands."

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Stoick, the Riders of Berk, and Hiccup mounted their dragons and made their way back to Berk, leaving the Uglithugs fate into the hands of the Gods.

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**To be continued...**

**Author's note:**

People, reviews would be nice, if its not too much trouble! I don't even know what you guys expect to see here!?

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Cheers,

Scarabeye3000


	16. Chapter 16

Guest reviews as of March 15, 2015

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Priecia (Guest): Thanks for the review! I'm really glad you liked it! :D

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**Shout out to, SMr. Freeze,**** Riverat73, the death bringer779, jlghighlander, DragonTrainerBoss, travellerofadifferentpath and Transformers0 **for their signed reviews.

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**Disclaimer: Any characters mentioned are all under copyright. This work is purely fan-made.**

**Title: From Asgard to Midgard**

**Author: Scarabeye 3000**

**Chapter 16: _'Daily life continues: Part 1'_**

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Berk

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With feverish haste Hiccup raced through the clouds as he quickly flew with Toothless back to Berk. The small skirmish with the Coalition seemed like a long time now, with the information that Grug, the wayward emissary had provided him. Astrid and the rest of the Riders of Berk raced after him, with the Chief bringing up the rear, their vanguard and reinforcement longboat trailing far behind them. He kept his silence after they left the sandbar, their prisoners were allowed to go free, back to their masters, as the Berkians retreated back to their own lands.

Curiously, the blonde Valkyrie observed her male paramour. He secluded himself to his own altitude of flight, a path in the clouds only accessible to him with the speed and ceiling height only his dragon can reach, probably to center his thoughts. But the most surprising though is his knowledge of the name of their main adversary. She can vaguely remember, him turning somewhat pale at the mere mention of the name- what was that again?

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"Cythrax?"

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"Who's that Cythrax?" Snotlout and the other riders flew beside her, hoping for some bits of information.

"I don't know, Hiccup was- umm- _'interrogating' _the enemy back at the sandbar but he stopped when he heard that name."

"Maybe it was someone he knew from his wars in Asgard."

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"Fishlegs is right," all of the riders looked above them as Hiccup glided near them, "He was an adversary we faced a long time ago."

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Everyone began their descent as Berk appeared in the distance, Toothless kept his altitude while the rest gradually lowered their height. From the island, they could hear the loud ring of the alarm as the high hill saw them approach from the heavens. With cheers and shouts of elation resounding around him as he dived and landed softly with the black Night Fury's large wing beats. Racing to catch up the rest of the riders landed with Stoick behind them, Bjorn and Lugnut marched forward towards the newly arrived and pats all their shoulders.

"There was no word you would come back so swiftly-"

"-I thought we would have need to take the fight to the Burglars."

Hiccup looked both men in the eye and said, "I will need to speak with my father's council, together with the arrangements we have discussed last night at the meeting."

"You mean you succeeded?"

The Heir didn't reply, but merely pointed at the prone girl, tied and unconscious at Toothless' back.

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Bjorn nods his head and approaches the black dragon, Lugnut also nodded knowingly and said, "I'll bring Spitelout and Fjall to the Mead Hall. Gobber's probably in the forges- I'll bring him in too."

"You have my thanks jarl Lugnut-"

"-no, bright one," the large reedy man smiled a little, "It is I who is thankful."

"Thankful for what?"

"-thankful that I am not your enemy," with that the father of the twins walked away to bring the rest of Stoick's lieutenants to the Mead Hall for a meeting.

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Hiccup then turned to the riders and said, "I know you guys are confused, and I know you harbored some doubts with our alliance with the Burglars. But I will need all of you to counsel me."

"Counsel? From me?" Tuff slapped his chest comically, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah! Are you sure? You want counsel from him?" his sentiments was shared by his twin sister, "Damn the Fates! What smacked you in the head thinking he would be good as a counsel?"

"Yeah! She's right! I'm an idiot-" Tuff exclaimed, " huh- wait a minute..."

"Both of you shut up," Astrid interjected, her eyes leering at them dangerously, "Hiccup, there are a whole shitload of secrets that you're not telling us."

He nodded as Fishlegs and Snotlout also perked their ears to listen, "I have not been completely honest with you- but with your counsel, I assure you, all your questions would be answered. So in that effect, would all five of you come with me as my counsel?"

"Sure!" Fishlegs said excitedly, "But- really Hiccup, why us?"

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"Remember that stupid and crazy idea that I had when father and the rest of the village decided to come after the dragons at Dragon island?"

"You mean that cockamamie plan to ride dragons to that accursed place?" Snot finally opened his mouth, but not without wincing from his numerous wounds, "I almost died that time... but the thrills!"

"Did you remember? Even after the betrayal I did- you all still listened to me and trusted me for that specific time."

All of the riders murmured in agreement, his heart swelled as they all voiced their thoughts of him.

"We did consider you useless of course, but when we saw you can be something else- well, what better else to follow except you."

"The alternative is quite frightening of course-"

"Yeah- follow Hiccup or feel my axe flying over your head."

Astrid blushed at the snide comment, "Enough, now- let's go to the meeting so we can all get up and _counsel _him all he wants."

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The maidens of Berk threw bouquets and garlands of sweet smelling mountain flowers from the Gods knew where they even got, right in front of Hiccup's pathway. His legend obviously grew overnight as more people clamored to see him from the other settlements around the town of Berk. Granted, with the influx of people and refugees, and the protection by the dragons, more families and clans uprooted from their homes and joined the Hooligan Clan. Also, word began to spread of the triumph of Berk against the Dragon Warlord Drago Bludvist, his apparent demise in the hands of the Heir of Berk spreads like wildfire as the Dragon Horde scattered to the four corners of the Barbaric Archipelago.

So, in order to increase their familial standing, clan leaders began to sought out the so-called Heir and offer a modicum of dowry for his hand in marriage.

This turn of events also fueled Astrid's already boiling anger, what the Hel, this day couldn't have possibly gone worse, first of all, he was supposedly kidnapped by their '_ally'_, but it seemed everything is in his plans. Second, she was hungry, literally famished, since the haste upon which they were called upon did not warrant the need for breakfast, so she now marched to the Mead Hall to get some food and hopefully, be focused enough for their meeting with the ruling council of Berk.

Third, blast this son of a half-troll Heir apparent of Berk that she now probably held feelings for, for not even telling her of his plans.

And judging from their_ playful rendezvous_ last night, she was sure he trusted her with that information. Seriously, she was pissed already, and then these giggling, blushing bimbo's decide to lay flowers in front of him. The nerve! What if he tripped with his artificial foot? What if he lost his footing by catching a wayward flower? Those things should be given, or better yet burned for firewood. Or maybe they should be burn for firewood-

No, no, that was too violent even for her. She just needs to calm down and- what the?

Hiccup was walking ahead of them when he suddenly turned his head towards her, fixed his gaze on her, which she met of course. He then leered dangerously at her and licked his lips seductively while giving her, one of his most mind-boggling smile and dare I say it, a look of such obvious want it was almost painful to look away.

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_'What the hell was that?'_

_._

She blushed profusely at his intense and passion filled gaze, her thoughts churned furiously as the young man of her thoughts also grinned inside at her reaction to him.

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Hiccup just whispered to no one as they finally reached the Mead Hall, _"I can see your color from here- green with jealousy. Hmm, my favorite colour."_

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The Riders of Berk opened the doors and filed inside, the north winds were buffeting from their flight awhile ago and so the warm roaring fire in the middle of the pit was a blessing for all of them. Already seated around the large table was Stoick and his lieutenants, Spitelout, Bjornn, Lugnut, Fjall and Gobber. They took their seats as food was brought on the table, with food still in his hands Hiccup stood and began the meeting.

"I'm sure you are all eager to hear what happened and why we allowed such things to happen- especially to me in particular."

With no one talking aside from him he continued and brought an all familiar crystal out from his chest, suspended by a single string and glowing from an inner light. It was a memory stone, albeit smaller than the one that Astrid possess, the same one that's currently nestled in between her armor and ample bosom. Gesturing and urging the stone as if alive, images began to play inside as his father and everyone else in their table looked on in wonder, the dancing images finally stilled and it showed two people talking heatedly with each other.

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... _beginning memory __ ..._

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It was Stoick, Big-Breasted Bertha and Hiccup, and what transpired on the night before as all three talked about their ally and their supposed_ 'treachery'_ .

"Our position is difficult young man, our tribe is very small- skilled but still small, from a Chief's standpoint I would always pick the preservation of my own clan."

"Which is not hard considering what I have in plan."

"Boy, have you not even listened?" Stoick was silent as Bertha unloaded all her worries, "The Coalition is not just made up of the Uglithugs- given they are the public figure because they are the most numerous, but I don't think they have the resources that we were asking for."

Hiccup contemplated and asked, "What was the price of the espionage job?"

"One medium chest full of golden trinkets to be paid upon delivery of this scroll," she produced a small scroll, undoubtedly full of secrets and loopholes in Berk's defense.

"Agreed, the Uglithugs are numerous- yet their numbers greatly weaken their clan, their island could not support their own population so they are usually on the offensive," Stoick finally breaks his silence, "Plus, Ug is a poor chieftain- compared to us before, we were richer because we have ample farmlands south of the island."

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"So, its a given they have more members than the Uglithugs and the Meatheads- but what clan are they?"

"-there maybe some other Berserker survivors, some zealots of Dagur's ideology that managed to escape from Drago Bludvist?"

"Maybe, but the Berserkers are so mind-driven with bloodlust that planning seemed unlikely to them- how about the Lavalouts?"

Stoick banged his big hand on the table, "That's it! It could be them!"

"We can deal with them- what are your worries then Chieftess Bertha?"

The mead flowed freely as the Chieftess drank a gulpful of mead, "I am afraid that they have penetrated the Burglars and your own island with their own spies."

"You mean to tell me that you don't even know your warriors from the new ones?"

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Bertha bristled, "Of course not Stoick! Think about it! We are a tribe of Warrior women, where do you think we get our children? Of course from the other tribes- my girls are faithful to me, but what about those that have found lovers in other clans? What about them? Do not forget that _love_ is a most potent tool in battles."

"Agreed Chieftess," Hiccup said, effectively defending his father, "May I suggest a much better approach to flush out those that are not loyal to you?"

The large Chieftess leered her eyes and nodded, she was already intrigued by the way this young man thinks, might as well let him speak his mind about their current predicament, "How do you suggest to do that young Hiccup?"

"By doing exactly what you were meant here to do."

She was stumped.

"What do you mean? Do you even realize what you are telling me? What we were sent here to do?"

"Yes," he insisted on his argument, "Look, you came here to get me so that you would not just have an heir, but also a bargaining chip for the Coalition right? And I'm pretty sure that if you fail, the consequences would be catastrophic to your tribe to say the least. So in that case, let us give them what they want."

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Stoick's cheeks were flushed, he was livid, "What do you mean give what they want? Have you fought in the ring for nothing? If you're implying what I think you're implying- it is out of the question!"

"No dad, consider it- if the Burglars managed to present me as a prisoner of war or as a captive to the Coalition then we can catch them off guard and at least get some first hand information. We can also gauge their strength and if possible get some thoughts on their leader and how to strike him first."

"You're going for the head? That's insane son!"

Hiccup just smiled serenely and said, "It's how I wage my war- now moving on- as they present me as a prisoner I fight my way out alone and then come after the Burglars as retaliation for their so-called _'travesty'._

Bertha was stunned, his plan was insane, surrender to the enemy using the Burglars as transport and then fight his way out alone, then come after them. "Boy, I agree with your father- this plan of yours is insane. No one sane enough would put himself in harms way-"

"Im not done yet, now when I fight myself out of the mess that I'm going to let myself into- we're going to need your daughter to be captured by us so they can't-"

"I will not let my daughter be sucked into this plan of yours that is spiraling out of control," the Chieftess face was livid with rushing blood.

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Hiccup sighed and tried to calm himself, why is dealing with his kin so hard? Because they're Vikings, that means their stubborn.

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"Listen to me both of you, we will allow the Coalition to take me into their custody to lower their guard around me- of course, I would be weaponless while I am with them. Now the Burglars will sail away and then wait for the counterattack, now during the counterattack, I would take your daughter as prisoner because my primary reason for that is actually two-fold. One would be to think that the Burglars are innocent of me getting away from their clutches, two the Burglars would be hesitant to attack Berk because of our hostage and the Coalition cannot compel you to attack because of the risk regarding your daughter, they are left scheming and plotting while you consolidate and strengthen your power base and giving you ample time to-"

"-thereby giving me ample time to flush out the one who are less loyal to my clan." Bertha breathed as she finished listening to his plans, "By the Gods, your plan is very risky- how in the world can you even fight yourself alone?"

"Aye, how do you suggest you would fight out of the Coalition forces?" it was Stoick who asked, "If you are being held weaponless- how would you fight?"

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"Trust me dad," he rubbed his ornate hand greaves and smiled, "I showed you some of my tricks in the arena... but you haven't seen everything."

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Stoick puts a hand on his shoulder and he sighed while nodding in agreement, "I don't like putting you at risk, but you have my trust. I wish you safe."

"And I wish that you would act scared and confused tomorrow when you get the news that I'm missing."

His father blushed a little at his words of jest, "I can act! I can convince everyone you're missing- and that the Burglars took you."

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"I know, but can you also handle some of the longboats to be crippled?"

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"What do you mean? You're going to let them burn it?"

"Dad, we have to also root out each and everyone here on Berk right. We can't have them here if their loyalties are misplaced."

That last statement left a bitter taste in Stoick's mouth.

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The memory stone whirled and buzzed with lights, but after a few seconds it stabilized and showed Hiccup in full armor except without his weapons being tied securely by Bertha herself as they stood near the docks. It was still somewhat dark with the sun casting long rays into the uppermost sky, while the rest of the Burglars did about in their business crippling the longboats moored on the small pier.

"Are you sure about this boy?"

"I'm positive, now when you hand me over- you need to clear out as quickly as possible, the Coalition must not know you have knowledge of my plans."

"What about when you attack us in our longboats? We're supposedly at sea- how can your dragon fly out there without you?"

"Don't worry about that, just worry about your other ship."

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Bertha stopped her tying and looked at him, alarm washed over her face, "What the Hel do you mean other ship? Are you going to sink it with your dragon?"

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"No," his voice dripping with uncertainty, "Ok, so I'm not sure- but Toothless can get pretty aggressive when I get hurt."

"And you're telling me this information now?" the Chieftess looked scandalized, "I should have known- will my girls get killed with this?"

"Of course not!" Hiccup winced as the Burglar Chief tightened the rope binding him, "Trust me Lady Bertha, it's your face that's supposed to look a bit remorseful after betraying us that you need to worry about."

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._..end of memory..._

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The people gathered around their table looks stunned with disbelief, so all the drama that happened this morning was just a ruse? And to top it all of, the main reason why they managed to show such an act of retaliation is for them to root out the misplaced loyalties of a few Vikings in their small town. It was quite disconcerting to know that his plan stretched out to be more complicated than they all thought, and they all performed superbly at his plans. So, now with the mysterious stone silent and showing no more moving pictures for them to see.

With a new eye they looked at Hic as if he was a different person all together.

"So, you planned all of that fiasco? We prepared a war host just to get you back," Spitelout looked indignant, "The nerve you have- of toying with us?"

"It's not really toying Spitelout," Bjorn interjected as the food they were eating was consumed in the midst of the conversation, "It's a very good plan, very well thought of and... very dangerous too."

"Now, we can attend to our borders and strengthen the outlying outposts."

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"Fjall, you and your son had a suggestion about that problem."

The large man stood up and takes out his bark notebook, opening a page he began a list of things they need to manage first, "Now, regarding the stronghold we thought about- we would pick the most highest points in every island that is within the sea territory of Berk and using that as an early warning outpost."

"How do you propose to do that?" Stoick's voice finally said over the meeting, "I need to say though that it would be best if we can get a place where access to that outpost can only be done by dragons."

"The same plan as I have thought- currently we have 1 Hotburple, 5 Gronckles, and 1 Whispering Death, they can construct the caverns by eating the stone that we would put our outpost at," Fjall said with a flourish as Fishlegs beamed beside him, "We can station a cadre of our riders inside the proposed outpost."

"That is a good proposition _Jarl Fjall,_ please note that we would need to discuss too about the living quarters, the daily routines of our warriors and of course their security."

Fjall nods his head and jots down the mentioned piece to his notebook using a piece of charcoal as pencil. As he wrote Hiccup moved the topics forward, "Now as _Jarl Fjall_ continues his writing, we now need to discuss the addition of more riders so that our early warning system of ringing Berk with outpost can succeed."

"We also need to discuss the security of the island and the loyalty check of each and every warrior and clans living in our territory-"

"-not to mention the security and integrity of our dragon mail carriers."

"Understood," Hiccup nods appreciatively, a lot had happened and numerous ideas began to form in their head as the new and old council converged and percolate their ideas on improving Berk, "The Rider Selection Game however-"

"-will be led by Astrid and Hiccup." Stoick said with finality.

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All eyes fell on the two young couple as they blushed from the eyes currently concentrated on them. Granted, they didn't usually have a lot of people staring at them, but this was different.

"But what about that _Cythrax Bladetongue_?"

Hiccup sighed and shook his head, it was just Astrid's nature not to let go of a topic once she puts her mind into it, "Cythrax is from Svartalfheim, he is a Dark Elven Archon and he was the supreme commander of the Nargothrond Expeditionary Force."

All faces that looked back at him wore puzzled expressions as the young woman beside him grabbed his shoulder and made him face her, "Our enemy is a Dark Elf?"

The young man nodded, "He was captured when we assaulted the secondary chamber, but managed to escape because the regiment that was escorting him was ambushed and presumed entombed in one of the collapsed passageways."

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"So, we're fighting Elves now?"

"-That's not good."

"Can we even win?"

"How the Hel do you fight elves?"

"-maybe we should strike first."

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Murmurs and conversations persisted around the table as even Stoick was beginning to argue with Spitelout who was sitting beside him.

"Hold it! Everybody stop!"

Silence as Hiccup sighed and stood up from his chair, he looked at everyone and shook his head, "This is exactly what happens when you say his name so casually, all Elves are given a name from their birth and imbued with a very subtle but powerful magic. Hence, the names can have a certain effect on their surroundings."

"So-"

"-so that means, do not say a vile name so casually,_ 'Bladetongue'_ invokes words of argument in a group. The commander of the regiment that was sent to escort him back to Alfheim didn't properly restrain his lips- the regiment was carelessly ambushed and confusion reigned in the ranks"

"Well, that sucks," Tuff exclaimed, "What do we do now?".

"We strengthen our power base, which is Berk- increase our rider count and train more dragons so their riders can carry weapons on their back."

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The meeting continued as they hammered all the necessary points in their plans of strengthening Berk and its surrounding territory.

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With the Berkian Inner Circle adjourning just after the midday sun passes over their heads, they all trooped eagerly outside as each and everyone was grateful at the warmth the sun was throwing at them. All around them a great deal of stretching and yawning happened as most of them talked and talked for three straight hours and practically drained their minds on what would make their small little island much better than it is.

"Thor Almighty!" Tuffnut exclaimed as he closed his eyes and stretched his back, popping sounds emanating from his spine, "Who would have thought that talking and scheming would take a lot out of my brain!"

"I agree- there isn't much to take anyway," his twin cracked her knuckles and her neck.

"Hey-"

Snotlout also stretched beside them, "He's right- oh my goodness... I thought it would be cool to be like, in the inner circle of Berk. But damn-"

"It's still cool," Fishlegs was beside himself with happiness, "I mean, we actually have a say now in the Berk Council."

"Yeah, because Hiccup told us to go with him."

"Not only that, but the enormity that must be done will require all of you to help me with everything," Hiccup finally walked outside into the sunshine with Astrid in tow, she was carrying a new set of axes though much smaller than what she was currently using.

Ruff's eyes twinkled and her lips curled into a sly smile, "Well, that's all and good- but what's that you're carrying?"

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Astrid can only blush as the rest of the Riders scrutinized her wargear, so this was the reason why the two of them were the last two that came out of the Mead Hall, he was giving her gifts. Again. And that practically made everyone jealous of their peers. But what can they do, Hiccup had made clear of his intentions for the blonde haired young woman. He somehow slips into a dream-like state whenever he would talk about her and his actions are a dead giveawy. So it was no surprise if he would shower the aforementioned young woman with gifts.

Ruffnut grabbed her set of throwing axes and held it up to the light, the rest of the Riders took one and looked at the finely crafted weapon.

"It looks weird I'll give you that."

"True, I've never seen a throwing axe like this before-"

"I'm surprised you managed to make something like this with all our time pouring into the numerous occasions at Berk."

Hiccup smiled at Fishlegs as he took all the weapons from his hands, "I didn't- I made these weapons first before the fight with Snotlout, it was the reason why it took me a lot of time to make the jewel-encrusted weapons for the Burglars."

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The weapon looked like a cross between an axe and a chakram, with the handle tapering of in the middle to curve inward towards the lower tip of the blade. Measuring only 12 inches from blade tip to weapon haft, the throwing axe was made of high-quality steel produced by Berk's own Gronckle stock and their poop, which is the special steel itself. Having no wooden component whatsoever, the handle was covered with shedded skin from Astrid's own dragon Stormfly, skillfully tailored to fit and not fray from over usage by its new owner. As a finishing touch it was etched with the red skull symbol of the Hooligans and the Hofferson's rune crest.

With the 6 throwing axes in his hands, the Heir of Berk put them all together and locked them in place using a unique locking niche that would lock each piece into the next one until the last one only held the leather strap attached to the hand-woven leather scabbard.

"Cool."

The rest of the Riders murmured in agreement to Fishlegs statement as he practically drooled at the weapon in front of him.

"Damn, now I'm jealous-" Ruff shook her head and wryly said, "-what about us? Astrid gets a kick-ass weapon and we have nil?"

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Hiccup smiled as he crossed his arms in front of him, "Don't worry, I already got plans for everybody's weapons."

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**To be continued...**

**Author's note:**

Jarl is a word denoting a person of high-rank in Viking society, they have their own armor, weapon, even a horse and fine livery.

Read and review guys, a little motivation helps a lot. It also helps me think what you would like to see and some questions in the plot that you are confused about.

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Cheers everyone,

Scarabeye3000


	17. Chapter 17

**Reviews as of 3/17/2015:**

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Priecia (Guest) : Thank you again for your review! :D Makes me happy.

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Shout out to my signed reviews! You know who you are: **jlghighlander, SMr. Freeze, TheFishKing, DragonTrainerBoss, HF54-TCC, and of course, AK.**

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**Disclaimer: Any characters mentioned are all under copyright. This work is purely fan-made.**

**Title: From Asgard to Midgard**

**Author: Scarabeye3000**

**Chapter 17: **_**'**_**_Daily life continues: Part 2'_**

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Berk, Dragon Arena

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With the morning meeting a distant memory of 2 hours ago, after the Riders and Hiccup grabbed some rest from their exertions for half a day. They headed for the arena to discuss more of the details in increasing the numbers of Berk's Rider count. Fishlegs and Hic walked inside the arena gibbering about the smallest of details, on how to judge the worthy, and how they interact with the dragons.

Hic, with his innate knowledge about the scaly lizards knows that they are creatures of emotions. They can easily sense a persons thoughts, their body language, even with your true self hidden between layers, a dragon can easily see through you. They are also creatures of habit, of great memory and great trust.

And armed with that piece of unwritten knowledge they began the first phase of the Rider Selections.

"Fish, I think this is a good idea that we began with the most basic part of riding."

"Agreed," the younger Ingermann sighed and looked at the running hopefuls in front of them.

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Gathering the numerous individuals aspiring into becoming Riders inside the ring, and putting up weapons on the numerous weapon racks and throwing in a vicious and snarling Hookfang in the middle of it all. Was both a smart and stupid move.

Because as soon as the gates were opened, and Hookfang stomped out of the holding pen in his burning glory, almost more than half grabbed weapons of their own to defend themselves from the rampaging Monstrous Nightmare.

A shrill whistle made everyone stop as Hookfang looked bored at the panicking aspirants and easily snuffed his flame cloak, Hiccup screamed at the top of his lungs from everyone's notion of defending against the tame dragon with swords and shields. "Everybody stop!"

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Oh boy, the Heir sighed as Snotlout and Fishlegs stepped into the ring beside him.

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"Everyone who have taken weapons to defend themselves have just failed your first test in becoming riders," a resounding groan enveloped the whole arena as more than half of the aspirants had an auto-fail in their hands, "Dragon riding requires you to be defenseless and trusting- we are called Riders of Berk because we actually ride and you also have to ride the dragons themselves, not draw swords and slay them."

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As the failed aspirants trooped out, almost twenty were left of the original fifty. So, Hiccup approached them and looked at each of their eyes, determined and fearless, all eyes looked into him, but most are younger than they were back in their first days of training, "You have passed the first step... even with Hookfang here snarling and howling, he even used his flame cloak to intimidate all of you. And not one of you tried to take a weapon for himself-"

"Uh, Hiccup," his cousin was looking at an aspirant standing rigid at the side.

"Yes?"

Snotlout approached a young man of fifteen years of age, the same age they were given the task in dragon training, he was standing ramrod straight, his eyes unblinking and he was taking shallow and slow breaths. Hiccup was puzzled, what the Hel?

"W-what happened?"

"He fainted," Fishlegs deadpanned, "...and it also looks like he soiled his pants."

"Standing up? He fainted while standing up? And soiled his- ok!" Hiccup shook his head and winced a little, the pungent smell of piss wafting in the air, "Unbelievable. Just unbelievable, ok Fish- get him on a stretcher and send him to the healers."

As the fainted youth was loaded to a stretcher, he continued his lecture while walking around the 19 remaining aspirants, "Ok, so before we proceed how many actually have handled a dragon?".

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No hand came up except for one, a small young man with bright black hair, and grayish green eyes. He was kind of small for his age and yet he exuded an aura similar to one of their former aspirants.

"My name is Arnar, my lord, Son of Benedikkt."

Hiccup shook his head and puts a hand on his shoulder, "Please, don't call me lord- it gives me chills."

"Truly, you are most humble- but I cannot simply call you by your name."

"Call me Hiccup and we'll be fair," the young man offered a hand to shake and was reciprocated, "Now, where have you handled a dragon?"

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"Gustav Son of Lars-"

"-ah damn, that kid again," Snotlout laughed a little at the mention of his protege's name, "Well, its like this- when you were still at- well you know, he kind of had a man-crush on me and tried to copy me."

"Copy you?" Hiccup leered and arched an eyebrow, "Copy you in what way?"

"Well," the larger cousin cleared his throat and continued, "Again, it's like this- we were training so we can get better at riding with the rest of the guys when he suddenly showed up and shouted, _'I want to be a Rider too'_. So, when he came to us with his larger than his head horned helmet, it was a dead giveaway of who he was trying to be."

"After that he took a wild, and I mean wild Monstrous Nightmare- grabbed hold onto its back and the rest is history."

Fishlegs returned with a sweat on his brow, "The aspirant is fine, he just fainted- Gotti gave him some herbs, so you were talking about Gustav?"

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Nodding his head Snotlout continued, "Yeah, I was telling Hic about the time he jumped on the back of a wild Nightmare and rode him all bucking, screaming and screeching."

"Must have burned almost half of the trees near the lumber camp back then," Fish said a little smile gracing his lips, "The Chief was so mad and demanded to know who burned half of the lumber stock."

"So anyway, he managed to tame it and named it, Fanghook."

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"You don't say?" the Heir shook his head with disbelief, he looked down on a smiling Arnar and nods his head. Gesturing for the other aspirants he signaled for them to follow and they made their way below the Dragon Arena.

"Ok, so now we pick the dragon that each and everyone of you would bond with... probably forever-"

"I want a Night Fury!"

The shrill voiced young lady grabbed their attention, and as soon as they turned she puts out a hand in front of Hiccup and smiled brightly, "Hi, my name is Vigdis- from the Agust clan, I believe we haven't met, but I'm sure we can get along Dragon Master."

"Okkkaayyy," rubbing his nape to signal his awkwardness, he looked to his two counsel and merely got a shrug of their shoulders, "So, uh moving forward- Snotlout here will help you pick a dragon of your own- after you pick your dragon, urge your dragon to go up the arena."

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The bunched up aspirants quickly separated as Snotlout took control and Hiccup with Fishlegs in tow headed back up to the arena. The Heir of Berk sidled next to the stouter young man and whispered, "Do you know her?"

"Who? Oh, Vigdis? Vigdis Agustdottir? Well, from what I heard she came from the fringes of the archipelago- Trader Johann once said that their clan was a name spoken in the western islands, their family managed a trading posts and they retreated here to Berk after- well, you know, after Drago."

"I see, but where is her family now? Shouldn't she go with them?" Hiccup's brow furrowed in question, it was odd, "They're traders right? Why stay here?"

Fishlegs shrugged his shoulders, "Beats me, all I know is when you slew Drago her whole family decided to uproot and go back to their old trading posts. The Chief even gave them a loan of one small chest of silver coins, taken from Drago's treasure hoard of course, and they went their way. Curiously, she stayed behind-"

Roars and screeches came from caverns down below as the arena they left came into view, they could hear curses and shouting as the aspirants obviously are having a hard time picking their own dragons. Both dragon enthusiast pointed out their most favorite traits of a dragon as the racket down below continued for a good amount of time.

"I was thinking about making you a weapon-"

"About that, I don't think I'm much of a fighter," Fishlegs cuts him off in bubbling glee as he produced his well-worn notebook, "So, since I'm not very violent I was thinking about something else, maybe something more akin for Meatlug?"

"That's what I exactly have in mind, the boulder-class Gronckles are known as steady fliers so I was thinking of a support weapon-" Hiccup smiled and pats him in the shoulder, "Also, your ability to analyze any given situation or battlefield changes will require you to be on the back of the front lines as support so it was kind of a perfect fit with the weapon that I have in mind."

Fishlegs nods his head in agreement, "You have a point."

"Of course I have a point, we just have to figure out what we can-" they abruptly stopped as a large explosion rocked the whole arena floor, both young men looked at each other knowingly. They hurried towards one of the small passages down to the dragon cages, with smoke billowing from the mouth of the passageway, Hiccup quickly called out below as the smoke covered everything below in the cavers, "Everybody ok ther- WHOA!"

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Both young men quickly dodged a large fireball, probably from a Nightmare as it shot out of the smoking shaft, coughing and retching the occupants finally came into view as Snotlout waved at the billowing smoke in front of him. Numerous aspirants were also doing the same thing, waving their arms and outstretched hands in front of their faces, in a harried effort to clear out the impairing smoke.

"What the _Hel_ was that cousin?"

"Someone decided to disturb Barf and Belch- and then the world just went black!"

An aspirant looks scandalized beside Snotlout, "-but you said to go after the zippleback!"

"I suppose you think this is funny, right Snot?" Hic deadpanned.

The larger of the cousin retched again and cleared the rest of the lingering smoke from his face, "Does it look like I'm laughing sweetheart!?"

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Hiccup sighed and shook his head, "Just get them up here so we can begin the third phase."

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After a good 30 minutes more of screeching and shouting in the caverns below, the aspirants who managed to bond with a dragon came up to the arena floor again with their dragons following in their footsteps. Only fifteen of the original 20 people managed to tame a dragon, as the rest simply was not patient enough to give the dragons ample time to approach them. With the failed ones being led off to a side door, Hiccup stood in front of the successors as he explained the 2nd test that he unknowingly given. Curiously, the one called Arnar succeeded, including Vigdis and her giggling gaggle of friends.

"Only fifteen from the original 20 people have managed to bond with a dragon-"

"-technically, it was 21 since we had one who actually fainted-"

"Thank you Fishlegs for pointing that out," his voice dripping with sarcasm, Hiccup sighed exasperatedly, "That was really not obvious- ok, so moving forward, the traits that you had to have must be trustworthy, bravery, and patience- especially when dealing with Strike class dragons."

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The people who managed to bond with a dragon attentively listened as a black Night Fury approached inside the arena, its green eyes were wide and playful as it bounded to Hiccup's side immediately. Toothless cocked his head and looked at each and every human in front of him.

"Congratulations, because those that have bonded with dragons have just passed the 2nd phase, for the rest of your training and possibly your life, the dragon that you have bonded with would be with you forever. Now, Fishlegs will write your names and your dragon's name as official registry so that we know how to identify each and every one of you."

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As the aspirant lined up for Fishlegs to log their own dragon's traits, Hiccup began adjusting the straps on Toothless's harness. With the excitement of the morning dying down as he arrived a while ago, he now attends to another pet project that he deemed necessary for Berk to sustain a feasible defensive parameters. Scouts for the outpost is a necessity as well as Vikings that are intelligent, not just in battle, but also in letters.

It's not like everyone in their small island can read and interpret the runes of their elders. In fact, if he hadn't went to Asgard as a 'guest' in their halls, he doubted he could even read half of the scrolls stored in the _'librarium' _back at the Eternal Realm.

He was running procedures for the outpost in his mind when he suddenly turned and caught the same girl who cheekily chose a Night Fury as her preferred mount.

"Hey, I thought you were getting you and your dragon's mark registered?"

The young woman named Vigdis smiled at him and shrugged her shoulder, "I already finished the registration- so uh, what's his name?"

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_'Its nothing Hiccup, she's just being friendly- try to relax. Astrid is not behind you-'_ he turned back to his dragon and began inspecting and scratching his belly and neck, eliciting a pleasured noise from the Night Fury. "I named him Toothless."

"Why?"

He turned to her and then to a bucket full of fish treats for dragon training, he then pointed to the treats and said, "Go get that bucket of treats and I'll show you."

She easily complied and returned with the bucket that he asked for, he gestured for her to give him a treat and she testily gave the black dragon one piece of fish jerky. Vigdis cocked her head sideways as she noticed the dragon's blank gums, "Oh, I get it now-" Toothless sniffed the offered food and opened his mouth, "-its because he's-YIKES!"

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The young girl jerked her hand back as the Night Fury armed his serrated teeth to the front and snatched the food from her outstretched hand. Her heart pounding and sweat beading on her forehead she turned to a smiling Hiccup as she realized what he did.

"You actually did that on purpose didn't you?"

He giggled nodding his head in agreement, as both of them shared a light moment a fuming young woman twirled her new throwing axes on her hands. Her blond braided hair shone in the afternoon light as her bright blue eyes focused with controlled fury and silent seething emotions.

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She shook her head as she simmered, "I leave you for a few hours and- you son of a half-troll, rat eating munge bucket!"

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Hiccup's shoulder jolted upward at the shrill voice on the side, he can only sigh dejectedly.

_'Oh no...'_

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**To be continued...**

**Author's note:**

People! Almost a 100 favorites? You guys do know how to make a writer feel appreciated... and yes, there is no such thing as a FISH JERKY! Haha

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Cheers,

Scarabeye3000


	18. Chapter 18

Reviews as of April 10, 2015

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**Shout out to, SMr. Freeze,**** the death bringer779, TheFishKing, DragonTrainerBoss, and i'm iam **for their signed reviews, seriously guys the chapter was short as hell even for my standards and yet you reviewed! You have my thanks!

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**Disclaimer: Any characters mentioned are all under copyright. This work is purely fan-made.**

**Title: From Asgard to Midgard**

**Author: Scarabeye 3000**

**Chapter 18: _'Daily life continues: Part 2.5'_**

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Berk

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Astrid Hofferson stretched her lithe body as she walked to the inside of their house, she just came home from the meeting at Mead Hall and for starters she was really tired and drained from all the planning and scheming that Hic had managed to pull everyone of them into. She played with the ends of her new throwing axes as she recalled the moment that she was given most of the answers she was asking for from him. Surprising as it is of his underhanded tactics in obtaining information and flushing out the enemy, most people in the old council, specifically his father fiercely agreed at his arguments.

It has its merits though, with the large influx of people and Berk easily being established as an excellent trading spot for the Northern Lands. Plus, the artificer works made by Hiccup on numerous weapons fetched enormous sums that Trader Johann had already commissioned additional ceremonial weapons to be peddled as far as the lands of the _Skaerlings_. The projects though that he proposed for the welfare of Berk garnered the most support.

With their small village evolving into a small town, it is now facing problems of several nature. Food production, water distribution, and structural integrity, not to mention sewage disposal. For the latter though he proposed a sewage canal that would run from outside the house, into a central area that would then flow outwards into the fierce sea. The sea itself, which was both their source of food, transportation and in some cases their misery, would deal with their wastes. Now the only problem that would complicate that is running water, so he described a way to get water from the mountain spring, way up into the southern slopes.

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The idea was both amazing and mind-boggling, by using his knowledge in numbers and so-called engineering, he proposed to dig underneath the earth using their boulder-class dragons, chewing their ways through earthen hills and caverns. With the water flowing into Berk, he also planned a so-called aquifer, a large holding area for water that would ensure continued supply even in the dry months. Hauling the water from wells and from the aquifer itself using a windmill, he managed to give a rough plan of the whole operation in his notes. She was sure that Jarl Fjall and his clan, the Ingermanns can and will carry out his instructions to the letter.

Like Hiccup, Fishlegs and his clansmen were known not just for their obvious bulk and brawn, but for also their capacity to think statistically and logically.

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Jarl Lugnut and Spitelout were tasked with the security and intelligence gathering for their spy network, numerous men were sent out to scout the surrounding area for a feasible area to establish the proposed outposts. A necessary step in beefing up security for Berk and its outlying territories. Also came to play was their task to increase the warrior and villager count. By blood, all vikings are taught to handle a sword at a young age, but as they grow older they branch out to their specialty, either a blacksmith, farmer, fisherman, or even a Chief. However, since they are Vikings, they need to have a constant raiding force that pillage and raid the fringes of known civilizations. From the Celtic kingdoms to the edges of the Roman Empire, the name of the Vikings instill fear and unsurety in a village or town near a body of water.

But so far, they were unable to employ their dragons yet in warfare inside of the archipelago, with large kingdoms employing an army of archer, and with the leather-skinned beast a pretty large target for their arrows and bolts. It was up to the two Jarls to improve and think of a way in defeating this weak spot in their impressive offensive force.

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She shook her head and sighed, she was tired, exhausted and pretty much drained of everything. What she would like to do now, is get her mind off of things. Maybe throw some axes, get on her bed for a nap since the excitement of the morning seemed to washed off of her now and the loss of adrenaline easily saps her energy reserves.

Happily mounting the steps to their house she vaguely heard laughter and a familiar voice mixed in with her mother's own.

Strange, maybe one of the Viking women came to their house for a touch of gossip. Viking women, although strong and able-bodied warriors, are still not immune for the juiciest gossip and would occasionally visit a friend to pick up tidbits of information to feed the ongoing rumor mill of the small town. So, it was such a great surprise that when she opened the door she saw a woman with long blonde curls and a mischievous smile as both beautiful young valkyrie looked at each other. One in unsurety and one in shock and anger.

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"You!" Astrid pointed at their prisoner accusingly, "What are you doing here?"

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Camicazi smiled and winced at the same time. Her head was still woozy from where Hiccup hit her a while ago, but with her senses almost restored to full by Astrid's mother and her wonderful ministrations. She'll be up and running in no time.

"Oh Astrid! Come in!" her mother cheerfully greeted her daughter, "I'm sure you already know each other, considering you've met this past few days."

"That doesn't answer the question why is she here?"

"Oh, you didn't know?" the sweetness in her mother's voice kept her wary, "It was Hiccup's idea and your father's to put her under our care."

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"What!?" she exclaimed in disbelief, "How- why the Hel?"

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"Ah! Astrid your home," her father greeted her with a cautios smile, "I see you have met our guest, that would certainly make it much easier to explain."

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Her grip on the double edged ax slackened as she slid down on a chair, sighing tiredly she rubbed her forehead as a splitting headache came forth. Seriously, if she knew that having an _'understanding' _with him entails more headaches than dragon training. She would have seriously reconsidered it before, hel, she might even hit her head just to make sure that she's doing the right thing.

But they already vowed to each other, granted no formal words were exchanged, and her parents nor his, have any knowledge of that. Beard of Thor, that is one more issue that they have to take up with her parents too!

However, more pressing matters are in front of her right now so she looked up and breathed deeply trying to calm herself.

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"Ok dad, from the start please."

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"Well, as you already know, Hiccup devised a plan to make the Coalition think that everything is going according to their plans." Bjornn sat down in front of his daughter and breathed a sigh, "However, the recent plans that were set in motion obligated that Camicazi be put under the control of Berk."

"Why?"

"Why you say? Well, for exactly the same reason that was discussed by that young man in the council meeting, we can't have the Heir of the Burglars sent to the dungeons right? So, it is a given that we would hold her as comfortably as the Alliance between the Berkians and the Burglars still hold."

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"That's insane dad."

"Well, its either here in our halls or the Chiefs-"

"-she's fine to stay here!" she exclaimed quickly as Astrid stood up and headed upstairs to her room, "So, where will she sleep- no wait, in my room right?"

Her mother chuckled from the foot of the stairs, "Jarl Fjall delivered a new bed just for your room."

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"I just had to ask huh?" Astrid hissed and simmered, "-as if nothing can make this day get any worse."

Explosions rumbled through the ground as a great smoke rose up from the Dragon Arena, Bjornn stepped up and looked through the window. As more smoke billowed from the arena grounds, "Astrid, who's at the arena right now?"

She was rubbing her forehead as a headache began to form, "Fishlegs, Hiccup and Snotlout were supposed to be starting the selection for the Aspirants today. He said he can handle it-"

Her father shrugged as he walked away and headed for the kitchen, "Maybe he's just doing something weird again- in any case, why don't you go to him? Maybe he needs some help, you know, being reacquainted with his people and all."

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She could not understand it, why would he need assistance anyway? He could fight three or more people at the same time and he can't even handle one Selection games without blowing anything up. Plus, he decided to dump _'HER'_ to their house, oh holy mother Frigga... just why?

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Jogging quickly to the dragon arena, she passed a gaggle of girls that was fawning over him at the Mead Hall hours ago. Shaking her head at the absurd things that the other villagers are doing for him, she couldn't help but think that given their situation, and the amazing things he showed them and gave them, well, she might not be as immune as she think she is.

But she is Astrid Hofferson, the most fearless female Viking of her generation at Berk. She would charge blindly to prove her point, fight tooth and nail for her right, and suffer great pains for the person she has given her loyalties to. Which is regrettably the same one every girls at Berk are tittering for.

Catching her breathe as she reached the entrance of the Arena, she saw him and another girl talking animatedly at each other. Curiously, Toothless doesn't seem to mind the stranger that's standing near him, he was chewing on something and she couldn't see properly what he was doing- what the?

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He was letting her feed Toothless? What the Hel was that?

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Feeling a stab of jealousy she began to approach, but stopped as the young woman, who is quite attractive of course with blonde hair and grayish eyes, playfully hits him and- the nerve of that guy to actually smile!?

A vein popped out of her forehead as she reached her breaking point, anybody near her would practically feel the heat coming out of her skin. She removed the clasps holding her throwing axe set that she just got from him today nonetheless, and now- she grinned inwardly at the irony- now she would use it now against him.

Wait- maybe she's over-reacting or misunderstanding. Oh hell, her feet just started walking on its own- and is her lips opening?

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"I leave you for a few hours and- and- and you son of a half-troll, rat eating, mungE BUCKET!"

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Aha, he flinched! Guilty as Hel!

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"Astrid, violence does not solve anything... please, calm down," Hiccup after hearing her voice jumped up and headed straight for an unwitting Fishlegs. Using their stout friend as a buffer between her and him, he masterfully evaded her flying axes much to the chagrin of their mild-mannered friend.

"I'll calm down after I cut off your scalp!"

"-but, I'm not doing anything!" he exclaimed which made her step back from him and their human barrier.

Breathing heavily the blonde Valkyrie spoke softly, yet her arms were shaking, "Then please explain Hiccup before I get the best of you and split your hair with my axe instead of a comb!"

"I was merely showing her why his name is _'Toothless'-"_

"-but why?" she bit her tongue to stop herself, '_Why show that to her when it was- ARGH!'_

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She abruptly stormed off as Fishlegs breathed a sigh of relief. A deep sagging feeling kept Hiccup on his toes as he watched the retreating form of Astrid. As the last of her blonde hair rounded the bend, heavy footfalls reached his ears as a hand grips on his shoulder.

"I think you should go after her cousin."

"Fishlegs?"

"Concur," the stout young man nods behind him as they didn't even look at him to know his thoughts.

"Can you two-?"

"We'll handle it." Snot said confidently.

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As the two stood up and faced the waiting Aspirants, Hiccup didn't look back and ran after the running young woman. She's mighty upset at him right now and there are no other place he can think of that she'll be running off to, except to his eternal horror.

"The target range."

As he made his way to the range, he began formulating on the numerous things he can do to approach Astrid. Its not that he isn't as skilled as the next guy, but she's very distraught right now. He could always come forward on his knees?

Hmm, not a very good idea considering his neck would be exposed as hell. Maybe he should approach from afar and call out to her. A loud thud, thud, like an axe hitting on a tree trunk reached his ears and he quickly scratched that idea.

Hiccup looked up into the sky and said exasperatedly, "Who in the world made me think of giving her a throwing axe to show my love?"

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More and more the whistling sound of a weapon flying through the air reached his ears as he shook his head in disbelief. This would definitely not go well. He reached the clearing and saw no weapons flying, or axes being hurled at him.

Instead, a more subdued and silent Astrid sat on one of the fallen logs as she also looked up into the sky in contemplation.

So, taking a very deep breathe, he approached and looked down at the calm young girl.

"Yes?"

"Umm..." he said tentatively, "Are you ok?"

"Of course Hiccup, why wouldn't I be?"

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He was stumped, a while ago she was ballistic, almost ready to tear his head off. Then suddenly she became this very subdued person? This is not good nor it is normal, even for her.

"Are you sure you're ok?" he pushed gently at her, "I mean, weren't you really mad at me awhile ago?"

She nodded and he noticeably stiffened, "I was, and I still am- but the fact you came after me speaks volumes of what we really are."

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_'Wow, she's really understanding... I wonder what else is the reason?'_

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"I obviously overreacted didn't I?" she scooted over as he sat down beside her, putting a hand on her shoulder they met each other's eyes and both blushed at their close proximity. "I apologize Hiccup."

"Wow, you apologized-" he scratched his nape, unsure of what to make of this situation, "-it's really new that you apologized for what you did? If you don't mind me asking milady- why or rather what made you so mad to threaten me with an actually axe?"

"Camicazi."

"Aha," he nods in understanding, "I take it you already saw her in your home."

Astrid replied with a nod as she interlocked her fingers with his, the practice range was deserted and no other people seemed to approach their small clearing. Sure, their relationship is currently unknown and that effectively doesn't stop the numerous hopefuls to gain his attentions. But situations like this puts everything in perspective and into place. She felt happy, now that he came after her, more proof on his obvious love for her, and his most unwavering attention for her.

"So, uh- any other specific reasons why you're mad milady?"

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"I don't know, its just that- I'm okay one time and the other I'm going ballistic and I'm going out of my mind. It's kind of funny because usually this happens when- oh!"

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Her reply made him think, what was the 'oh' for anyway? Hiccup's eyes looked at her as she blushed and bit her lip, as if she was guilty of something. He smiled at her, unsure of why she suddenly stopped talking. Not to mention the 'oh'.

"What was that oh?"

"Nothing!" she said hastily while standing up at the same time, "Forget it Hiccup..."

"No," he came after her as she headed for the target tree and retrieved her throwing axes, "If there's something wrong then I want to help- I NEED to help Astrid. Please, you're that important!"

"You can't help me this time Hiccup, so drop it now ok."

"Astrid! Milady, I beseech you talk to me. My heart aches at the thought of you suffering on your own- I cannot bear it in my mind. I insist."

"- and I insist you drop this thought now."

The blonde girl locked her throwing axes in place and began backing away from him, he insistently followed as a vein popped on her head. "I want to know your problem Astrid, I don't want you like this. I know your suffering and I don't want it, please tell me, your mood swings, your increased appetite, even your puffy cheeks it is as if you cry every single night."

"Argh! Will you just-"

"-what's happening to you milady?"

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"MY DAY OF BLEEDING IS STARTING!" Astrid screamed from the top of her lungs, "DAMN yooouuu..."

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"Oh... you mean the _'Red Rage'._" Hiccup blushed profusely as he finally stopped pursuing her, "Sorry... We- well, I'll uh- just get out of your way then."

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Meanwhile

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"So, your cousin has failed didn't he Ug?"

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The Chief of the Uglithugs grunted, "He was wounded as you can see- and less than half managed to return from that expedition. We have grossly underestimated the young man's skills." The speaker's silky voice unnerved him, a raider of a hundred campaigns, Chief Ug was no mere Viking. He was the biggest and bravest of the Uglithugs, the most fearless and most tenacious on their island. However, ever since the Lavalouts came out from their hiding place with their new Chief. They began conquering more and more of the surrounding area, a force much more quicker to rise in power than Drago and his Dragon Army.

With Drago, operating in the middle of the Barbaric Archipelago, the Coalition unknowingly spreads its claws outward into the 'modern world'. From the Gaelic and the Celtic Kingdoms of the Isle of Brittania, to the coast of Constantinople, to the far corners of South Africa and its gold hoards. The Coalition provides services to the highest bidder, from mercenary guards, to elite line troops, even elite soldiers of the Roman Emperor known as the Varangians. Heavily armed and heavily armored footmen, a cavalry charge would be put to a halt in place of their tall shields and long spears.

Drawing manpower from their protectorate, from the Lavalouts, Meatheads, and Uglithugs from the Barbaric Archipelago and other numerous strongholds that dot the known world. They consolidated power outside of the archipelago as Drago turned it upside down with his obsession with the dragons.

Their leader held the Coalition in a serpentine grip, always in the shadows, and less than half of the Council have actually met their leader. Most only know him by name, and even Ug the Uglithug have not seen him nor heard his voice. Except now.

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He couldn't understand it, why was their leader so interested in the Berkians? More specifically, the boy in question, the information that the Burglars gave them was quite detailed and it earned a crooked laugh from their leader, but when he learned of his escape and his decimation of the batallion that was supposed to capture him. He just went livid that he actually heard a sword swing through the air and a head rolling down from the elevated platform their leader was seated upon.

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"Pity, that you have miscalculated him-" the voice of their leader sounded like a snake slithering into each and every one of their ears, the cold tone in its voice sent chills to everyone else and they sweated unconsciously.

_'Why hide his face behind a screen- and- and put candles behind it? I swear its unnerving.' , _"My lord-" he decided to be humble this time, "-I admit, that I am wrong in this. For the information that have reached me, I did not fully comprehend... nor understand what I must do. I- I was wrong."

"Indeed you are wrong, but honesty and humility are your most redeeming qualities," the voice behind the veil suddenly turned magical, almost alluring, as if you wanted to trust the speaker with all of your being. A few more honeyed words and Ug relaxed, "Now dear Ug, I have a task for you- assemble a strike force that which I would want you to assault Berk. You are one of my greatest commanders, and it is in this confidence that I appoint you Warmaster for this campaign of extermination."

"Of course my lord," he bowed, grateful that his neck is still attached to his spine, "I shall wash Berk in blood."

"Very good, convene with your cohorts, the Meatheads, the Lavalouts, and the Burglars on how to do this endeavor."

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Ug stopped as the last of his cohorts was named, "My lord there is a slight complication with the cohorts."

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"Oh?" the voice sounded surprised, "Tell me then dear Ug- I'm sure it is quite simple."

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"The Berkians have taken prisoner of the Bog-Burglars Heiress, Chieftess Bertha has currently retreated into her own world right now. My spy tells me she's cursing both the Coalition and Berk back in their own island, it is unwise to prod her further."

Their leader sighed, "Oh dear, well- let's leave her be for now. Insist however, on sending troops for the campaign, grieving or not we must snuff out Berk for our own purposes."

"As you command Lord Cythrax," Ug raised his sword in salute and he stepped away from the raised platform and headed for the exit. The large two doors opened automatically by two black armored guards, taller and leaner by almost a foot from Ug as he stared at their unnaturally thin swords and fingers. His heavy footfalls receding away from the room and the honor guard locking and barring the door. Finally in the semi-darkness Cythrax Bladetounge stepped out of the silk curtains and sighed heavily.

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"These mon'keigh and their- feelings," a voice from the darkness called out.

"They are detached beings, unable to control their emotions, hence their governments are so easily swayed," another voice called out from the ceiling.

"Greed, lust, and pleasurable fulfillment... both Eldar and Mon'keigh are slaves to it all," a third voice sighed.

"Really now brother's- we must not all blame their flawed and misbegotten kind," Cythrax stepped into a candle lit table and poured himself some fine wine made from the vineyards of a warlord in the Kingdom of Valencia, "-they are at least good fodder for our troops."

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White silky skin and soft silvery hair was the most striking feature of the Coalition leader, his white eyes and roguish facade commanded the facial structures of his race. Tight lips, a prominent nose and pointed ears, the most sinister looking teeth that was probably chiseled into sharpness. It was both a handsome and cruel face, a slaver of a thousand souls, a thousand years of the time of men have not made him age and yet his existence is af those of a wraith. Who yearned the most exotic sensations of pleasure and pain. From their numerous operations in the world, his black market kidnapped thousands that pass through their halls and lavishly bestowed them with the gifts of the Prince of Pleasure.

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"Lord Malekith sends word, he said that the Betrayer has begun to move- it is said that the Betrayer himself would come for us and enlist our aid in finding the Keys," A dark elf with a human skull as a helm walked out completely off the shadows, "The Overlord also said to prepare as much soldiers we can muster for him."

"So he wishes us to act now Neroth?" Cythrax laughed evilly, "Truly we have waited for a long time- with the loss of Nargothrond our clan has suffered a great shame. Let us hope this will redeem us in the eyes of the Great Darkness."

"I have heard the Lord Malekith has summoned the last of the Kursed-" another one with a blindfold stepped out and joined the table, "-for centuries I didn't know that they slept beneath our homes in Svartalfheim."

"Yes Janus, the Kursed have been awakened and would join in the assault of Asgard-" the Dark Elf stepped into the balcony and looked down at their hideout, "-Lord Malekith assured us of it."

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"What about the other worlds?" a gravelly voice, as if muffled by a cloth also joined their coven, the last of the Nargothrond survivors, "The Betrayer's plans call for the release of the Destroyer, the Nidhogg. The Nine Worlds would burn."

"Yes Kane, this world will burn-"

"-well, we must make haste then since they'll all burn anyway, we must make use of them as much as we can."

"Perfect timing brother, a new delivery of slaves has just arrived," he clapped his two hands and a trapdoor opened from the floor. Sounds of large gears turning were heard as a large iron prison was pulled up into their eye level. Inside was a gaggle of half-naked young men and women, with different hair colors, with different skins, with different eyes and markings. The assembled Dark Elves licked their lips as they converged on the huddled humans, their chains, whips and pokers in their hands.

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"Behold my kin, it's feeding time."

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**To be continued...**

**Author's note:**

Thank you so much guys for the support on this fic, yes, most people say that its not getting too much attention. But what the hell, I cherish all my readers, especially my reviewers.

Anyways, I went on vacation and I'm really sorry guys.

The tender scene between our two hero and heroines was unplanned, but it kind of played out. Sometimes I hate myself for being a _tsundere lover... sigh._

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Cheers everyone,

Scarabeye3000


	19. Chapter 19

**Reviews as of 4/24/2015:**

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IansInsane (Guest) : Would you like some 'taters to go with your 'fresh' Hobbits sir? :D Thanks for the review!

Guest #1 : I apologize for the long wait, I got a lot on my plate these days... But thank you for the review! :D

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Shout out to my signed reviews! You know who you are: **UnbreakableWarrior, SMr. Freeze, uknow99, the death bringer 779, i'm iam, Code Musica, jlghighlander**

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**Disclaimer: Any characters mentioned are all under copyright. This work is purely fan-made.**

**Title: From Asgard to Midgard**

**Author: Scarabeye3000**

**Chapter 19: **_**'**_**_Daily life continues: Part 3'_**

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Berk few weeks later

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The rays of the morning sun gently lapped at the edge of every house of the archipelago as a new day dawned upon on the Isle of Berk. Shore birds squawked as the morning winds pushed them further up into the sky as the first few citizens of the small town of Berk began their day. From the armory the sound of forging resonated as the sounds of hammer striking an anvil resonated from the forges with a certain consistency into it. Smoke trailed lazily as the nearby houses finally stirred and Viking began their day of work.

From their beds, every citizen of Berk starts their day with a hot cup of soup. Sure, they could get tea or the occasional coffee, but the exorbitant prices that it commanded ensured that only those of wealthy purses can make a purchase to the traders. So, in lieu of such creature comforts, they can only heat up last night's dinner of sheep stew and mutton.

Hiccup on the other hand had woken up earlier than usual and headed for the forges to pursue an idea he suddenly had in the middle of the night. From his very small room on the back of the forges he sketched on how better and easier to make_ lamellar_ armor. The same lightweight armor that the golden army have used that is almost impervious from a crossbow bolt. As part of his early morning routine he had tried to experiment with numerous materials from wood, leather, aluminum, iron, even bronze and copper. From his experience at Asgard he would want the riders to attain a level of skill that would make them proud of what they are.

They're Dragon Riders, the most elite warrior Vikings in the whole archipelago. Well, sort of.

The thought brought a snicker on his lips as the images of the twins and their antics reached the fore of his mind. Thor almighty, how can those two become so famous just because of their capacity to inflict serious tragedy to anyone near them. If only he can train the twins into becoming much better warriors, then maybe he can focus their energies into inflicting their considerable talents to mayhem to their enemies instead of everyone else around Berk.

His cousin, Snotlout, is without a doubt a really strong Viking. A few more years and he would seriously give his father a run for his _mundr_. However, he's too arrogant, too proud, to blind with his so-called _'perfect image' _that he fails to see that it affects his prowess as a fighter. He tends to overestimate himself and that is a very big mistake he made when he announced the duel between them. If he can only harness the innate strength and fortitude their shared blood brings, then he would have a hammer to smash his enemies aside.

And Fishlegs and his wonderful brain that has the capacity to think logically and statistically, a rare trait in a Viking, would be an excellent in a support role in any scenario be it in battle or in peacetime.

If only he could give them more survivability in combat, or more staying time, flexibility perhaps?

Wait a second, when he was being taught as a sit-in inside the forges of the dwarves he was told of an obscure branch in metallurgy that Brokkr once mentioned to him. Apparently, that branch was responsible for the numerous advancements in the armors of the Golden Army. From the old gray plate armor used by Lord Bor and his Legions of Old, to the more recently used combination of lamellar and cuirass favored by the Golden Army. The old ones armor offered excellent protection from direct frontal assault and massive blunt frontal attacks, yet it was very cumbersome and heavy. They had to train their whole body since the helm alone weighs a good 30 stones, obviously a different fighting style was invented that time and not much movement of the limbs were given by the armor.

So the dwarves, led by Brokkr forged an armor by mixing numerous metals and came up with Mithril. But he could not reproduce mithril, a key component of Mithril is mined directly at Vanaheim and it can't be done from where he is at. A substitute could work, yes a substitute for the excellent metal might be found in Midgard and he just has to find the perfect combination.

He wracked his brains for the perfect combination in armor as realization finally dawned on him.

Sweat glistened his body as he walked over to a waiting piece of paper and pointed charcoal. He took the instruments and began sketching the design that was forming in his head, his hand was a blur as he sketched quickly lest the design and important components are driven off from his mind by another weapon design that he is planning for the twins and Fishlegs.

And with renewed fervor, the clang of the smithing hammer to the anvil resounded once more.

A few hours later, the uneven sound of Gobber's peg leg came round the door as he stared and smiled at his protege. "You're up early?"

"I have to-" the young man nods in greeting as he gave the finishing touches on his new creations, "-this is the new armor that I'll be showing the Aspirants. What do you think?"

Hiccup held up a blackened steel cuirass that can cover the chest, midriff, and the abdomen. Lamellar armor made of a combination of woven rope, and thinly hammered steel and leather to cover the hips and shoulders like a stitched belt can be attached to a coif that Hiccup made on top of the shoulder clasps. All colored in the blood red and black of the Hairy Hooligan colors, they looked quite menacing as the addition of masks and full face helmets and horns are optional and depending of course to the user.

Gobber took the offered armor and inspected the quality of the metal, he struck it with one of his fingers and listened to the quality of the sound coming from the cuirass. Surprisingly, he made the armor light and the lamellar part flexible and easily repairable. He handed the armor to his apprentice and gave an approving nod, "It's a nice armor, but it's so light compared to the hammered plate ones we encountered used by Norman raiders. Can it really hold against a war mace?"

The blacksmith's eyebrow raised as the Heir of Berk began donning the prototype armor, "Umm... what are ye doing?"

"Simple!" Hiccup smiled as he tightened a strap holding the cuirass in place, "Arm yourself with a mace and let's try it out."

Gobber's mouth hung open as the young man hummed while he did some last minutes adjustments in the strapping of the new armor. He watched as he walked over to a mound of hay and opened his arms wide.

"Well, we don't have all day."

Gobber looked aghast, "What- what do you think you're doing lad?"

"We have to test this armor," he stated matter-of-factly, "Just smash me with your war mace or something."

"I'm not doing that!" Gobber protested, "What if you got hurt? Stoick will hang me by my knickers!"

Hiccup sighed as he urgently banged on the cuirass he now wore, "We have to test this now because I'm to show this later at the arena. Trust me Gobber- please, don't you have faith in me?"

The blacksmith sighed, defeated at his apprentice's words, "All right boy, all right- wait a second there," he walked over to a large cabinet and began rummaging for his hand attachment. Screwing it in place after removing his smithing hammer, he stood in front of Hiccup and asked. "Are you ready lad?"

Hiccup nods and saw Gobber swing his amputated arm and smack him dead in the center of the armor. The weapon smacked and a resounding clang echoed throughout the smithing followed by a distinct yelping sound, but being the smithing area none paid attention.

"Are you ok lad? Are you hurt?" the blacksmith asked hurriedly as the young man stood up from the hay pile he fell upon.

With the breath knocked out of him the Heir of Berk laughed and said, "I- I'm ok! I didn't feel a thing!"

Gobber approached and touched the part where he smashed the armor into with his weapon, not a crack or dent can be seen from the flat tone color of the steel as the blacksmith nodded approvingly. Quickly taking off the armor, Hiccup opened the armor and the old man's eyes widened in surprise. The armor was actually two parts, one part was the actual smooth curving cuirass-type armor and just behind it are numerous dragon scales. Or in close approximation of scales, but made of a hammered metal that seemed lightweight in his calloused hands.

"How did you made this so light?" he took one of the scales into his hand and he felt that it didn't even weigh up to one stone, "And so strong?"

"I just bonded aluminum and steel together, I never knew it was real simple-"

"You WHAT!?" Gobber rushed up to him and looked at the bonded metal. Sure enough the toughness of the steel is there yet the malleability and pale shine of the aluminum is also evident. "How did you ever manage to do that? You used aluminum? But why aluminum? Such a pain to get access to an aluminum mine-"

"Trust me, when you hear how hard it is to bond the two metals, you'll forget the mineral acquisition problems we might have."

The blacksmith puts down the armor and sits down, he still could not remove his eyes off the remarkable armor and shook his head in disbelief, "Unbelievable you are... how did you ever manage for both of them to hold together? Before, when I used to try and bond them, I just made a useless brittle metal I wouldn't even trust anyone to step on over a ledge."

"Well, you will be surprised to know that it took me a good ten hours to bond it successfully, as you know, steel which is very hard does not bond well with aluminum right?"

Gobber nods and he continues, "So, I devised a technique of heating the metal to just over its melting point then hammer them together continuously, folding the molten pieces together over and over again. And by folding the metal we create an excellent alloy that is both strong and light... to tell you the truth, I almost gave up on it I mean more than a week of work on a single piece of armor is a lot of time."

A bright smile came from the old blacksmith as he puts a large hand on his tired shoulders, "This is an excellent armor Hiccup- if we can mass produce it then we have a feasible way to employ our dragons. Just imagine, with lighter armor our riders can carry more gear- or crucial supplies since a full plate of armor would considerably weigh down on our beasts."

"-thus, giving them more fighting time in the event of a protracted campaign."

The blacksmith again nodded approvingly and stood up, he turned back to his apprentice and said, "Well, since you poured a lot of time and energy into the new armor- you might want to load up again head to the Great Hall for some morning grub." Hiccup puts the new armor down and stretches his back, audible pops can be heard as the lingering pain ebbed away from his lower back. Nodding in agreement, the young man walked outside and quickly headed for the waiting Mead Hall as more and more of their townsmen stir up for the start of another day.

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Mead Hall

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Reaching the hall constructed by his ancestors quickly, he queued up to the food line and expectantly held up his bowl to accept his soup. The galley cook, a relative of the Ingermanns smiled at him and gave him double portions, some extra black bread, and hot tea imported from the oriental kingdoms. As he took his seat and began spooning the hot soup into his mouth, using his other free hand he pried open his closed notebook and checked page after page of plans and projects that have been reportedly finished and still going on forward.

The scouting of the surrounding area has now been finished and Jarl Lugnut and Bjornn had begun to post and increase the garrisons that were being constructed, some were even built into sheer rock faces accessible only to the most desperate of attackers. Dragons were the only primary transport and only the most experienced and trusted are sent to the outposts to ensure the quality and mettle of the garrison that could help assess and sometimes stealthily slip out of the observation point and regroup back into the island. Maybe in the future they can put siege weaponry there, a trebuchet with a counterweight of 50 stone or even 100 stone is good, or a series of war mangonel, but for now observing would be most helpful. Only problem he could see now for this endeavor is about provisions and the living quarters. To negate the need for a large bonfire to heat the whole garrison, they used their dragons as heat generating equipment, problem about that is you can't use a dragon to cook your food. So, devising a way to conceal a smoke from a bonfire increase the stealth and camouflage of the whole encampment.

Now the sewage and dirt canals have already been finished by the Ingermanns, with their ample supply of good longhouse builders, it is no wonder that a canal that spans every household, of every street was finished in a couple of weeks from the first day of conception. Utilized as a waste disposal canal, it proved beneficial and quickened the housework done by the housewives, which of course earned him more laurels of accomplishment in their eyes. To supplement the waste drainage, the underground aqueduct works and aquifer projects have also been completed. Initial digging showed that Whispering Deaths already began tunneling under Berk for sometime now and all they just did is connect the criss-crossed passageways into one coherent route for the underground stream, doubling the capacity and speed upon which the water would travel. Foregoing the grandiose aqueducts of Rome and Byzantium, the Berkians underwater water source looked spartan and bare, yet it proved much beneficial as the numerous wells gave a more accessible point to gather fresh water for bathing or cooking, instead of going up to the mountains and getting their needs. The sandstone bed where they tapped the wells opened up nicely and is fed by the tunneled aqueducts and shielded from any saltwater contamination by having the Gronckles tunnel around the sandstone and reinforce the stone wall protecting the artesian aquifer.

The only improvement he could see now is the military arm of his village.

With the armor he just finished, he could probably arm all senior Dragonriders by the end of the week, if and only if all goes well. Now, that does not include the numerous weapons project he intended to finish for his entourage. So far, the only weapons that were clear for him are Snotlout's and Fishlegs, the weapons that he was designing for the twins should be very easy to maintain, robust and very versatile. With the marks clearly noted on his notebook he folded it neatly and quickly finished his breakfast.

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Berk Dragon Arena

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"So, I was out patrolling together with the other guys and then this really big dragon who swooped down from the sky and smacked me and my dragon Longshot out of the sky!"

"You're joking! There couldn't possibly anymore Riders out there-"

"It's true damn it! A Rider with a gruesome mask on top of a very large dragon came and attacked us, thankfully, my wingman and my dragon managed to fire back and evade it. It chased us up to the fringes of the outpost where the other two members of our garrison came flying towards us. At that point, the masked rider turned into the clouds and vanished."

"Did the Rider had any distinguishing marks on him? A coat of arms or banner?"

"Nil, but he had a mask that is made of odd-fitting dragon tusks and probably dragonhide armor- plus a staff, a staff that can stun a dragon."

"Stun a dragon?"

"Yes, it was making this weird spinning and clicking noise and he was shaking it in front of Longshot and he just floated in mid-air, almost oblivious to my voice."

Hiccup walked past the two conversing riders as he carried a canvas bag made of leather containing the armor he made and weapons made for Snotlout and acknowledged him with a nod of the head as he walked swiftly towards the open area where his friends await for him. Already he could see that his cousin and the rest of their group were already gathered together with Astrid. He reached them in good time and smiled meaningfully at all of them.

"I have something to show you guys."

The larger of the cousin stepped forward and took a notice on his bag, "Are those more toys?"

"You can say that."

"Cool!" Fishlegs bubbled with delight, as Hiccup took out the gleaming dragonhide armor he made during this past week. He took out a carved piece of wood with a design none have ever seen before, it seemed to fit in one hand perfectly and yet it doesn't feel or look right, he handed it to a reluctant Fishlegs and then turned his attention to the canvas bag, he also gave two large one edged straight blades to Snotlout and two additional steel rods. Both young men quirked an eyebrow as Astrid began helping the Heir of Berk in donning the new armor. The carved piece of wood looked like the stylised body of a crossbow, yet it did not have the limbs nor the strings, but numerous cogs instead and an obvious housing for the bolts.

As Fishlegs fondled and explored his mysterious weapon, Snotlout took out the twin blades and examined each of the two blades. The twin blades were heavy, they would be unwieldy if handled by any smaller young man aside from his cousin and the short grip ensured that being disarmed would be difficult. The two broad blades did not have a guard and the whole hilt of it fitted extremely close to Snotlout's whole hand. The only thing different is the pommel, it stuck out of the bottom of his grip and was noticeably hollow. It sported some holes into it, probably fitting the two extra rods he was given. All in all, it baffled both of them as the twins flushed with envy.

"Why does the two of them have a weapon while the two of us don't have one?"

Tuff nods his head in agreement, "Yeah, how come my sis and I don't have weapons of our own?"

"Because its hard to make weapons that will combine both of your attributes- being twins, I have very few insights on how both of you fight effectively," Hiccup steps forward as he tightened on the last strap as Astrid took a step back to let him pass, "Usually, both of you fight real well... with each other of course. We need you two to channel your wasted energies fighting each other into our enemies, and so far, I'm having trouble with you two cooperating on your own."

"We can fight-"

"-together if we must."

The Heir of Berk nods and shrugs his shoulders, "We'll see about that, for now I have to attend to Fishlegs and Snotlout." Both young men approached him and he said, "Fishlegs I want you to gather the aspirants- only those that have passed. If they don't have a dragon yet, don't bring them to me ok?"

Nodding his head, he turned and walked towards the waiting aspirants, as they were left alone he gestured for the weapons in Snotlout's hands. Obligingly, the larger of the two handed the weapon easily. Without a word, Hiccup began assembling the weapon in front of Snotlout, Astrid and the twins. Taking the two blades together, he pulled a swinging lever using the hilt of the two swords and combined the two blades with the blunt parts facing each other making a space just large enough for a blade or something else to pass through. With the head part assembled, he then inserted the remaining metal rods and effectively made a large two pronged glaive. The onlookers mouth hung open as he stood in front of them with the large pole weapon standing on the ground.

"So what do you think?"

The Jorgenson for the first time was speechless, "I- I really don't like it, I don't even know how to use a glaive... but since it seemed cool, I guess- I guess I'll hold onto it."

"Right, since you'll be holding into it, why don't you try training with it," even in obvious glee and speechless admiration, his cousin couldn't help being such a jerk. Yet the tone of his voice assured him that Snotlout couldn't wait to try it on an enemy. Astrid was scrutinizing his armor and she finally spoke as the Aspirants approached their senior group.

"What kind of armor is this?"

"A new kind of armor that would ensure I can have the peace of mind that you won't fall from any stray arrows flying about."

She chuckled as Fishlegs came up to him, "You mean to tell me that this armor can withstand arrows?" he gestured for the semi-crossbow like weapon in the larger man's hands and he obliged. With everyone watching he dislodged a handle from underneath the body and pushed it towards the front end of the crossbow. Everyone stared as the sides seem to push forward, extending into a proper bow that held a thick string on its notches. As he reached the edge of the crossbow housing, they heard an audible click as it finally locked into place. Hiccup refolds the handle into a niche into the housing and begins rotating the cog with another handle that was expertly built into the side of the cog, Fishlegs was not sure about it before, but now he could see what the cog is for.

Hiccup paused for effect and said, "This Fishlegs is a repeating crossbow."

"By Odin's Beard!" the stout man threw his hands up and grabbed the crossbow with two meaty hands, "I have never seen something so beautiful- aside from Meatlug of course, all of my life!"

Now that the crossbow is assembled he saw that the cogs actually works as the cocking mechanism for the weapon, the tension of the bow arm is very powerful seeing that the drawstring needed to be drawn using the cog he installed. The body of the crossbow was made of solid darkwood and reinforced with metal plates placed strategically to prevent splitting of the wood from over usage. Colored a mixture of black, white and gray, it practically vanished behind the cover of foliage and it didn't even probably take much to camouflage it. All aspirants closed in, enraptured by the weapon, "You said automatic right?"

"Yep! So spin that cogwheel to draw the string, then when it's cocked I want you to shoot me with it."

Astrid looked scandalized while Snotlout intervened, "What the hel did you just say?"

"I want Fishlegs to aim at me with his new weapon so we can see if this armor works real good."

"That's it, you have officialy lost your mind-" she turned to the twins and Snotlouts, "Alright you three, bring him to Gothi... knock him out if he resists."

"But I'm not! Just try to restrain me and I'll drop you three-" he vehemently threatened, "Look, me and Gobber have already tested this armor awhile ago at the smithing- now I just want the aspirants to know that being a Rider isn't so bad. Especially if we can protect them with the most excellent weapons one can only imagine."

Astrid still looked skeptical, but reluctantly caved in as Hiccup took a step back and opened his arms wide. Unsure of what to do Fishlegs shrugged his shoulders and began turning the cogwheel, inside numerous other smaller cogs engaged and began pulling the drawstring backwards. After five complete turns another audible click was heard and the drawstring locked into place. Fishlegs carefully aimed at Hiccup as his target nodded encouragingly, donning his dragon-like mask he signaled that everything was ok.

The Ingermann turned to Astrid, still unsure, "Astrid-"

"Go, trust him Fishlegs."

He took careful aim, sighed and squeezed the trigger. An audible 'twang' was heard as the bow straightened again, the string moving faster than the eye can see, the heavy steel bolt shot out of the crossbow and flew straight towards the Heir of Berk. Hiccup didn't flinch as the bolt hits him at the middle of his chest, but surprisingly, it didn't went through as expected, instead it bounced off him and clattered to the ground. Surprised, the blond valkyrie started to head towards him, but was stopped as he gestured for him to fire again.

"Try squeezing it again and again, but pause after every squeeze-"

Fishlegs did as he was told, surprisingly not noticing that the drawstring had already been cocked into place. He squeezed four times with obvious pause and out came bolt after bolt towards Hiccup. Some bounced off, others deflected, but most importantly no bolt ever penetrated the armor, which is very unlikely for any armor being used in those days.

The senior riders waited as he approach, there were obvious dings and scratches where the bolts smacked into the armor. But no visible penetrations can be seen, nor any cracks are visible. Every shot has been of no consequence to the armor at all, Astrid smiled as he came forward and looked at her knowingly. Trust him, pretty good call for her.

"So now you see- this is an armor I made for the rider, it will dramatically increase your survivability on the off chance you get your dragon killed with an arrow," he then turned to Fishlegs and gave his new weapon a pat, "This will be your primary weapon Fishlegs, your support would be much needed in the coming conflict and I do not wish you to be in the thick of it. Instead, you can rain precision arrow strikes- the cocking mechanism is armed with a self-cocking tension spring that easily pulls back the cogs as you fire it. Useful for five shots, then you have to spin it again to achieve maximum output."

"I'll practice with this fine weapon all my life-" he said bubbly with elation, "-the best day ever!"

As the Riders and the Aspirants all admired the new armor and weapons, a lone rider came swooping down from the sky as its Monstrous Nightmare flopped down to the ground as soon as its feet touched the ground. Its rider a small bulky teen rolled and flopped to the ground, obviously exhausted and noticeably bleeding from a headwound not coming from their crash to the ground. Hiccup raced towards the teen and removed its riding helmet, it was a younger man's face, with jet black hair and numerous freckles on the bridge of his nose, he could have sworn he looked exactly just like Snot when he was younger.

"Gustav!" it was Astrid's voice who pierced the imposed silence, "What happened? You were supposed to be on the Western Outpost?"

His breathing was labored as Fishlegs bent down and began checking his wounds, he removed his armor and patted him all over, he still did not answer as the Ingermann said, "He has three possible cracked ribs, thankfully none seemed to be too serious- a head wound from being hit in the head, and he's very exhausted... He needs water now."

Water was brought forth from a canteen made of leather, as they squeezed the quenching drops into his dry lips, he managed to finally answer their first query of him.

"Outpost attacked- m-masked rider with- with large dragon... hundreds of dragons destroy the outpost, we scattered- some to warn the other outposts, me I- I flew as fast as I can back here."

Hiccup nods in understanding as the young man closed his eyes again, he turned to no one in particular and ordered, "Take him to Gothi."

Gustav was carried outside by other Vikings as he contemplated their situation, recently reports came in of a large dragon flying high up into the clouds. Sometimes, shadowing the patrols whenever the outposts would send their garrisons to investigate, sometimes they kept their distance, other times they would just be attacked from the clouds. The rider would unseat them, but their dragons are so well-trained and so trusted that they dive headfirst towards their masters, thereby saving them from a splashy end. However, they've become more brazen as some riders were even attacked by a group of dragons only to be defended by their mounts. This incident is becoming more and more apparent and its about ready to blow up into their faces.

"Snotlout, assemble any rider that have been to the Western Outposts, ask around if they were attacked by mysterious dragon rider," his cousin nods as he turned to Astrid, "I'm going to ask you something again."

"Handle the Aspirants?"

"Yes please," he then turned to the teens and addressed them with Fishlegs, "I want you two to prepare a posse, we'll be retaking the Western Outposts- also if we are to pursue this mysterious rider we need to have as many senior riders as we can, I want both of you to come- Fishlegs, medical supplies and support."

"I got it."

"We got it."

All of them headed for their assignments as Hiccup made his way towards the Great Hall, since he has made a mission to go after the enemy, his father would need to know about this.

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Uglithug Island

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Row upon row of Vikings formed smartly, their bag of provisions strapped onto their bags as spears, shields and numerous weapons were carried on their persons by every warrior available. Dressed with an assortment of armor, both leather, tempered, even scaled, and bone were utilized. The Uglithugs marched towards their docks as Ug and his cousin Grug leads the procession of the warriors. With a possible thousand strong warrior force, not including the serfs, slaves, and warrior in training that they fielded, it was as if all of the Uglithug's lands have emptied.

They only have one mission now, sail towards the Meatheads and Burglars to demand soldiers to be given to the Horde. Then finally sail towards Berk in a brazen invasion force that would put shame to Drago's own army. The original Uglithugs were originally a good half-a thousand strong, but with Drago's defeat, his own army deserters supplemented the needed manpower, thus bolstering their army's might.

Longboats were filled to the brim with supplies, ballistas and numerous siege weaponry.

"So, we go now to implement your revenge on them-"

"-I already told you, that young man is simply out of this world," Grug shook his large head at the memory of his encounter with Hiccup, "I do not wish revenge, only for them to be left alone."

"We can't do that dear cousin," Ug turned to him as they walked towards the docks in the head of the army, "Due to your failure in obtaining the boy, we now have to destroy everything that we could have probably used in the Berkian Islands. Instead of just raiding, all we can do now is destroy them."

"Just because some elf said so-"

"-do you not value your life? If you willingly throw yourself into trouble then do so without my behest- elves commands us not because we want to, but we have to!"

"I am not being ungrateful Ug," Grug sighed and whimpered, his wounds still somewhat fresh, the pain a constant reminder of his foolishness, "But being slave- leaves a strain in my mouth."

"Then fear not dear cousin, we now sail towards our freedom," Ug finally boarded their longboat as it quickly shoved off and headed for the direction of the Berkian Peninsula.

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**To be continued...**

**Author's note:**

So, I removed the periods and allowed the HTML program to do the editing and **you guys must now decide** though if you want me to retain this format or you want the period thing that I always do.

Nothing much to say except thank you guys for still reading. I hope you enjoy this update.

Also, I'm thinking of putting a link to the weapon designs. And some of the stuff that I wrote about especially the armors and weapons. Just something that I got spinning in my brain.

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Cheers,

Scarabeye3000


	20. Chapter 20

Reviews as of May 5, 2015

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**Z** (Guest): I don't know if that is a serious question or that is just serious trolling. Of course, I'll still use periods. You can't end a sentence without a period. (_And by replying to this review, I just made one **TROLL** very, very happy. Congratulations Z._)

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**Shout out to, SMr. Freeze,**** jlhghighlander, TheFishKing, and The Viking Stranger, wolfman7 **for their signed reviews.

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**Disclaimer: Any characters mentioned are all under copyright. This work is purely fan-made.**

**Title: From Asgard to Midgard**

**Author: Scarabeye 3000**

**Chapter 20: _'Blood is thicker than water... well, sort of.'_**

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Berk

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Hiccup walked quickly towards the Mead Hall to speak with his father, the mysterious rider seemed to attack them directly now instead of just flying on the fringes and observing. Numerous tales speak of a rider armed with a staff made of dragon bone, possibly hollowed out or naturally grown by the dragon where the bone came from that has the ability to stun target dragons. Albeit only temporarily, the effects easily wore off after the riders and their dragons would focus on each other.

A good way to focus on each other is by screaming till your neck veins pop as you fall to the ground, while your dragon hovers stupidly in the air.

Most of the time, the scream of their riders wake the stunned dragons into action and crisis have been averted. However, the last attacks have been quite deliberate and he simply could not forego this problem. Somehow, all attacks seemed similar in nature, the attacker would jump from cloud to cloud while quickly approaching their target. Suddenly, the rider would shake his staff and stun the dragon, then his own dragon would swipe the Berkian Rider off and their soldier would fall to his death, but luckily their dragons would wake up and come after them.

When they finally right themselves into a level flight, the attacker would be gone, vanished once more into the cover of the clouds.

Now though, they've began a more brazen move by attacking the Western Outposts itself. All outposts were of course important, but the Western one was the most critical one. The Western approach was the sea route where the Celtic Kingdoms are located, it is where the Lavalout island is located and the power base of the Coalition for the whole Archipelago.

Better to solve this problem, before it blows right in front of their faces... or maybe being blind in the Western side makes him very uncomfortable so this problem has to be addressed. Right now.

Entering the large hall, he saw his father seated with Bjornn and Fjall, both men trusted by his father and by his own self. He walked over up to them and declared, "I'm forming a raiding party of riders... we've just been attacked by a mysterious rider on the Western Outposts and the garrison that we placed had been overrun."

"I know, which is why we want you to stand down Hiccup."

"Wh- why?"

"You're being to hasty on your decisions," Stoick rubbed his forehead and sighed, quarreling against his son never did give him pleasure, yet most of the time he can definitely see his own young self in him, "We need more information."

"What information?" Hiccup said agitated at his father's indifference, "Numerous attacks that we have shrugged off-"

"I was the one who received those information, it was by my order for it to be investigated."

The young man bit his lip, information makes any ruling class successful in their rule, so why in the world was he not included, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I knew that this would happen! You are impatient in this kind of things," Stoick slammed his fist into the table, "Do you not think that I became Chief just by listening to every message our outposts bring. No, I send spies throughout the Archipelago and beyond. I didn't stay Chief just by worrying what plants to grow, or what houses need to be repaired- when you become Chief, all burden will be upon you, including sending warriors to their deaths."

"But this is-"

"You are assembling a posse to take down a single mysterious rider, who attacks like none of us have seen before, what guarantee do you have that none of your men would not die in vain?"

"They won't die in vain, I won't let them die in vain."

"My word stays, there will be no going after that mysterious rider- I have already sent for Spitelout with a detachment of our navy, including veteran riders."

"What?! Why send him and not me?" Hiccup protested loudly, "The outposts is my project- it is my legacy for Berk, at least let me go with them!"

Stoick stood up and banged his open palm on the table, "Enough Hiccup! You WILL stay here in this island, you are forbidden to go beyond our horizons- your life is much more important than a bunch of outposts," he threw a scroll of parchment towards him and it scattered across the table. The face of Hiccup Haddock III looked back from the drawing complete with three chest, indicating the rewards for his capture, "Your bounty has already increased thrice this week and I will not have bounty hunters hounding you wherever you go. You will remain at Berk where it is safe and where our dragons can protect you. Everyone else can go after that blasted dragon rider, everyone EXCEPT you! Mark my words Hiccup, I don't want you outside of a hundred leagues from Berk. A hundred leagues do you UNDERSTAND ME?"

Hiccup started to protest, but he suddenly backed down and bowed silently. He stepped away from Stoick's table and walked out of the Mead Hall.

The Chief of Berk sat back down as he sighed heavily, boy was he too old for this shit. An outstanding young man his son turned out to be and he was thankful that he can finally see that right now, however, of all the things that he can inherit, he just had to have his stubbornness. Granted, they were Vikings, it was something in their blood that made them tic whenever someone, or something would contradict whatever they set their minds upon. Sometimes the similarity can be exhausting, but for now at least, his son yielded to his words easily without much conflic- wait a second.

"Fjall-"

Fishlegs' father looked up surprised from his paperwork, "Yes Chief?"

Thor Almighty, I hope I'm wrong, "How far is the Western Outposts?"

"Well," he looked down at his notes and said, "Well, about 396 nautical miles according to the Spanish Map were using- that's err... about 99 leagues more or less."

Stoick sighed again and shook his head, he then turned to Bjornn as he rubbed his already aching head, "Bjornn- do you mind finding my son? And make sure he stays at Berk, I think he just exploited a loophole in what I just said."

"I'll uh- I'll try to find him," Bjornn stood up and headed for the door, the Chief then looked at Fjall and shook his head in disbelief, "I always wondered where he got his genes- well, it takes two parents to make one child."

Fjall can only pat him on the shoulders as they go back to their work.

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Meanwhile

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Bjornn reached the dragon arena and immediately felt the silence as he approached Hiccup's group, they were talking loudly, all excited and booming voices. But they went silent when he came to them, so he asked the one person his authority meant something, hopefully, she won't clam up.

"Ok Astrid, where's Hiccup?"

"Umm..." he rolled his eyes as she clammed up.

"Is this a day for umm... Astrid?"

"Not really..."

"-then answer my question child," Bjornn sighed, "His life might be in danger."

"He just went after the mysterious rider- he figured that since his father expressly forbid he don't leave within a hundred leagues of Berk then he's not going to be breaking any word from his father."

Bjornn can only shake his head in disbelief, can that guy get any headstrong and cunning. He then turned to the senior riders and said, "Is there anyone who went with him?"

"Oh! One of the survivors from the Western Outpost- Gustav Larson went with him," Fishlegs exclaimed.

The Jarl looked at her daughter and reprimanded her sternly, "Astrid, you of all people should restrain him- for the benefit of Berk and yourself. Next time, don't let him plunge into harm's way, now every senior rider saddle up and pursue him.

As one all senior riders, Astrid, Snotlout, the twins and Fishlegs prepared their dragons as their quarry had a half an hour head start of them.

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Western Outpost

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The Night Fury dropped from their cloud cover as a purple-yellow Monstrous Nightmare followed in its flight path. Hiccup rubbed his nape, his conscience nagging on him as he didn't technically disobey his father's words. The Chief of Berk explicitly said to not leave within a hundred leagues of their island, so in essence, he's actually on the fringes of that restriction. His father wasn't just that specific so he dismissed it as a small technicality and his father can't really fault him this time.

Deep inside though he knew, he wanted to defy his father's orders to stay. A deep nagging in the back of his mind compelled him to act, and so far, his instincts haven't failed him so far. And so, here they circled the somewhat abandoned Western Outpost, not a soul stirred as the dragon attack drove the garrison away to the safety of the other outposts nearby. The supplies and things that the garrison used for their daily routine were strewn about, the same way Gustav described it with all the attacking dragons trampling and driving all humans to scatter. Curiously though, the flag of the Hairy Hooligans still flew in the wind, which is quite odd.

He turned to the younger male behind him and signaled for him to go down.

With a nod, Gustav angled Fanghook to follow behind as they glided down with Toothless taking the lead. Using Gronckles to even out the rough upper parts of the stone cliff, the Berkians fashioned out a landing pad made of wood and carefully planted weeds and plants. From below all observers can only see a flat grown part of a jungle, but from the air a clear landing area could be seen from 50 feet away. As they landed, Hiccup quickly dismounted and fingered his two swords waking the twin sentient beings. Gustav took the rear as he drew his short sword and a discarded wooden shield, a bit singed at the sides, but sturdy enough in his hands. Opening the access door to the living quarters, they stepped down the first tier and made their way downward quickly, and silently. Before leaving though, Hiccup signaled to Toothless with a gesture, immediately the black Night Fury did not return to his usual careless stance. Instead, with his back hunched and scanning the skies and surrounding area, the black dragon maintained its cautious stance as he blended into the darkness of the luscious undergrowth. Fanghook, taking the cue from the Night Fury assumed a lying down stance, but kept his two eyes open, his mouth already prepared with spit in case he needed his fire cloak in an instant.

Secured in his knowledge that none can surprise them from above, Hiccup led the way into the darkened corridors of the Western Outposts.

The Western Outpost, as mentioned, was built into a sheer rock face, from their access door at the top there was no other entrance except an emergency tunnel that was dug and hidden to all others except to the commander of the garrison. So, according to Gustav the commander, a man named Hrald was last seen mounting a defense with his dragon and retreating back to Berk in a hurry.

Now the outpost had one spiral staircase carved out of the stone, with the rooms also carved or rather eaten away by the Gronckles, with enough headroom for a large Nightmare or a Nadder, in theory of course, to move around or if necessary fight effectively. If they did follow the design then the next floor should be the mustering area, "Aha!" Hiccup opened the partition cloth and stared into the mustering area, where the guards prepare for their patrols, its also where they store their weapons plus some extra equipment and where they keep the Terrors for their dragon mail service. Finding it empty and devoid of any weird things, although most of the objects were strewn about, both young men headed down to the common room.

The Viking common room, where the garrison spends most of their time indoors also sported the most windows, also carved cleverly into the walls. From afar, the windows are mere overhangs of stalactites nipped carefully by Gronckles, yet from the curtain of stone one can hide a spotter and saw the sheer span of the Western Frontier. A few chairs and some odds and ends were strewn about as a large hole was punched through the thinnest part of the rock wall. Like a battering ram came charging through from the clouds- holy FRIGGA!

Hiccup pulled Gustav to the ground as a loud breaking sound, so familiar now to his ears reached their senses. In a blink of an eye, something hard slammed into the wall where they stood before and almost crushed them to death. Dust and bits of rock flew everywhere as the Heir of Berk realigned his senses, with their attacker slamming into the rock wall, it sent out a concussive wave that immediately knocked out Gustav and had Hiccup grasping for support. As the world spun around him, he managed a shrill whistle before being confronted by a tall rangy shadow. A masked face came from the billowing cloud as the dust settled near and around them, the enemy walked out of the dust cloud like an unknown specter as it wielded a staff made of dragon bone and hard wood. It spoke in a muffled, yet gravely voice.

"So predictable..." the enemy, the same mysterious rider that Gustav mentioned confronted him now face to face, "... I knew you would come."

Damn it, that's one of the biggest dragons he had ever seen, the enemy didn't come alone it seemed. A large dragon now poked its head into the opening as two large horns was probably the one used to smack the wall open, numerous frills adorned its skin as it managed to twist its neck in an ungodly angle, it looked like a giant owl in his eyes. It's rider, a man wearing a mask made of dragon hide and horns made from his slain quarry, approached confidently as he looked down on Hiccup. His armor painted in an array of blue, brown and red, looked menacing to any other beholder, but his enemy was not just anyone, he had faced numerous battles and slain his fair share of enemy. He gripped his two swords and kept his silence, from behind their enemy he saw two yellowish eye slits hidden in the shadows, with a nod Toothless remained motionless as Hiccup observed their enemy's movements.

"I want you to meet my dragon- Cloudjumper."

He still kept his silence as the new rider approached and scrutinized him closely behind the mask.

"Still silent it seems-" the enemy paced around him as he tightened his grip on Agni and Rudra, his enemy's staff lazily perched on his shoulder, "-and I see you brought some mighty friends with you." He gestured to the prone figure of Gustav as he scoffed at his face, "His life will be mine... as is your whole misbegotten clan."

Hiccup stood up and fixed his mask, "Not if I can help it-" with a blink of an eye he vanished in a cloud of smoke as the enemy dragon roared in panic, the dragon knew that this was one enemy his rider could not hope to face and win. The mysterious rider just stood there as the young man locked in his target, Hiccup was moving as fast as the shadows and quickly closed in to his confused enemy. But before he could slice the mysterious rider in the neck, a large leathery wing blocked his view and was the one that got sliced instead of his intended target. The large dragon called Cloudjumper roared in pain, but quickly grabbed its rider in one of its leathery wings and peeled out of the hole he just made. With a simple nod Toothless bounded from the shadows and followed the larger dragon to the opening, he squared his shoulders at the opening and was about to fire a plasma bolt when the larger dragon beats him to it.

The Night Fury bounded to the stairs as he grabbed Hiccup and Gustav while diving for the safety of the lower floors. The whole common room exploded in flames as the enemy dragon sustained a stream of fire as he tried pulling away quickly and making fast into the clouds. With the stream of fire stopping, Hiccup first made sure that Gustav was okay and unhurt, then he quickly mounted Toothless and guides him to a blank wall where no barrels or crates for supplies are placed. Pressing a secret stone switch, a large gaping hole opened in the ground and the Night Fury plunged into the void. Soot, smoke and singed hair adorned Hiccup not including the skinned hands and fingers he suffered as Toothless quickly and quite brusquely negotiated and maneuvered the labyrinthine escape hatch. They came out on the mouth of a cave concealed behind a large boulder just near the landing area where they found Fanghook sprawled to the ground, probably from his skirmish with the large dragon.

With Hiccup and Toothless the only ones remaining, the two scanned the skies and saw their quarry. The large dragon escaped, but not without a wound of his own from his skirmish with the younger Nightmare, it was trying hard to reach the top of the sky where the high winds could assist in their flight. However, with only three wings beating in sync, it was fighting a losing game, the Heir of Berk pats his best friend's head and whispered, "Let's go bud and pick them off from the sky!"

His only reply was a deep rumbling growl as Toothless opened his wings and effortlessly pursued the wounded dragon.

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Cloudjumper tried mightily to reach the high winds just beyond the cloud cover, but the slash from the human weapon and his skirmish with the smaller Nightmare left one of his wings wounded and unable to move in sync. The rider pats his dragon reassuringly as they made good time of their escape, they hoped that the burning room would snuff itself on its own and hopefully free the mysterious young man. Valka scratched her nape uncomfortably, a nervous tick she developed whenever things would go sour. The first time she saw the outpost she was surprised that the banner of the Hairy Hooligans, her forgotten home flew proudly on the site. Then she saw that they were already riding dragons, in fact they have teams of dragon riders that were located in the western, norther and southern fringes of Berk. Assuming the eastern side is also covered, that must mean one thing.

Berk had already managed to train dragons.

However, that would be next to impossible, Stoick hated dragons to the death, the other villagers shared his sentiments. Even her at first wanted to hate them, but somehow she could not. That was probably why she could not slay Cloudjumper 20 years ago when he looked inside their halls and nudged Hiccup's crib. She knew back then that they were not the mindless killing machine her kin have all thought them to be. For 300 years, dragons and humans fought against each other and she knew in her heart that she would not be the one who can make that change. She knew that all this time she could only wait for the right person to come and teach those stubborn Vikings back at Berk, or the whole archipelago that dragons can be friends.

But as she thought, it would take years of reeducating their kin and that would not be happening anytime soon. Drago Bludvist on the other hand is a different story, she had encountered the warlord's dragon horde a few years ago and she was just appalled. The dragons were mercilessly trapped and beaten to submission where the madman would arm them with metal armor too heavy and cumbersome for them. The weaker ones were casts aside, or slain to be fed to his other dragons, a fate so cruel she still had nightmares when she remembers that night she rescued Thump, Lump and Rainwinder. So, she's been raiding left and right any trapper ships she could find, or if she finds a stronghold for the trappers she would attack it with her dragon friends and they have all gladly obliged her.

No, she was sure that Berk had already fallen to the servitude of Drago and employs riders as its main battle force. She sighed heavily as Cloudjumper limped to the clouds, her son came to her mind as something heavy managed to constrict her chest. A mother never forgets, and her sadness made her lose focus on her surroundings, as she still patted her dragon reassuringly she didn't see a black speck in front of them already growing larger by the second.

Valka just heard Cloudjumper yelped in surprised and something hard collided at her in mid-air!

Holy Frigga, what was that? Her head swam as the concussive force of the mysterious rider managed to knock her off her dragon and the shrill whistle of the winds was the sound of them falling to their deaths. "Now you die!" Hiccup screamed in the air as he released his hidden blade on the underside of his right gloves. Valka blocked it her staff as his other hand grabbed into one of her leather straps and held on to her in a death grip. As they tumbled to their deaths, he was still valiantly trying to stab her with his hidden blade. A short blade that sprung up and noticeably gleamed in the sunlight, Cloudjumper and Toothless was engaged in a battle of dragonesque proportions as their riders fell to the earth.

"Stop! Stop you idiot!" she screamed to her attacker, who was this vicious young man anyway, "We're falling to our deaths you idiot! Thor Almighty!"

He stopped his movement and she relaxed noticeably, but suddenly his right hand shot out and easily pierced her upper chest where her heart should have been. Blood poured out as she screamed in pain, he probably missed her heart by a few centimeters, but that doesn't mean that everything is okay and her blood gushed out in red droplets in the air. Odin up above, who was this crazy young man?

Cloudjumper, upon smelling blood in the air and hearing his rider scream out in pain spun in mid-air and smacked Toothless with his large tail. He dived headfirst and his wings flat on his body to decrease drag towards the tumbling duo as blood droplets reached his nostrils, the smell of metal also permeated the air and he redoubled his efforts of chasing their fall. Hiccup on the other hand, retracted his arm and was about to plunge it again to his enemy's body when she managed to swing her staff with her free right hand and clipped him on his forehead. Blackness and stars peppered his eyes as his hold on her slackened and she twisted away into safety, a brown blur got between them and the large dragon suddenly came into his view. Hiccup curled into a ball and spun away as a torrent of fire almost burned him to cinders, the dragon grabbed Valka with his wings and peeled away. Toothless's roar can be heard as Hiccup grabbed a small handle tucked away into his knee pads. He pulled at it hard and immediately his flight suit unraveled quickly arresting his descent and prolonging his flight time. From behind, Toothless fired a small plasma bolt making him rise significantly as the heated air managed to push him upwards higher.

Pursuing their quarry they managed to catch up to them with Cloudjumper still limping in the air with his three uneven flapping wings.

He puts his two outstretched hands on his hips and he plummeted down to his enemy's dragon. The large reptile felt the additional weight on his back as Hiccup landed on his back, opening his flight suit at the last moment to slow his descent. As his good leg touched the rough dragon hide he made a running start towards his enemy and drew his two swords in one fluid motion. Cloudjumper folded two of his wings and angled the last two facilitating his sudden barrel roll, but the young man was expecting a similar move from the dragon. With a quick hand he resheated his swords and grabbed hold one of the wing limbs so he didn't fall off, as the large dragon began to spin once, he half-crawled and half-climbed the whole body, taking cue from his enemy and its peculiar movement proving without a doubt that his enemies have probably done this before. Then as soon as he leveled his flight, Hiccup jumped on his back drew his sword and was upon Valka in a blink of an eye, she managed to raise her staff to block him at least, but his swords cannot be stopped. With the fury of an Asgardian, he easily sliced in half the dragon staff shocking the mysterious rider. She could not believe it, a bone specially made from a thousand year old dragon sliced so easily by a sword? It was so impossible that she did not quickly notice that he was already upon her, after slicing her staff in half, using the right sword he poked her in the left hip, he followed with a left elbow to the chin. With his momentum he spun behind her and used his left sword to delicately give his enemy a paralyzing cut on his right forearm.

Valka grunted as she was brought down to her knees, her attacker was really good. He's fearless, impecabbly bonded to his dragon, and very skilled. Thank the Gods she always wears her armor and mask, the blows were lessened in intensity yet the pain could not be wished away. As she went down to her knees, she felt a cold blade on her neck as her enemy stood behind her, he aimed his free sword at Cloudjumper and said, "I know you can understand me- return to the Western Outposts or I'll kill your master-"

Cloudjumper continued on his flight path visibly defying his wishes, it growled menacingly and didn't even tried facing him. The blade was pressed deeper into the neck as the large dragon whimpered, "Don't try any other barrel rolls on me- I might let my hand slip on your rider's neck."

Toothless roared in approval as he jumped out of a cloud, he was following close by in case all things went awry, but his caution wasn't needed. The large red-brownish dragon turned and while carrying a standing Hiccup and a kneeling Valka headed back to the Western Outposts. Flying in silence, Valka tried to engage her captor in conversation again, "So, now that you got me- what's the plan?"

"The plan will be revealed to you, when I decide what to reveal to you," Hiccup said coldly.

Halfway through the flight they saw three specks in the horizon as the highest point of the Western Outpost became visible. A few more minutes and they all saw clearly that it was a flight of dragons, one Nightmare, a Zippleback, and one yellow-blue Nadder. Toothless roared in delight as he saw the coming Riders, Snotlout and the twins waved enthusiastically as they saw the large dragon flying in a straight line towards them. His prisoner the mysterious dragon rider kneeling before him, Hiccup signaled for Astrid and she flew in parallel to Cloudjumper.

"We were worried!"

"You shouldn't have- I got him."

"I can see that!"

"I need help though, I want you to grab him with Stormfly at the arms," he gestured for his prisoner to stand up made him raise his arms, as he did so the blue Nadder swooped down and grabbed the enemy by the two raised arms. She flew quickly away from her larger kin and remained on the back of the flight while the twins went behind all of them. Toothless then angled himself sideways as Hiccup easily pulled his body up to the harness, locked his safety harness into place and adjusted the pedals to manual controls. With him leading, and followed by Cloudjumper with Astrid, Snotlout, and the twins bringing up the rear. A few more minutes of flying and they finally reached the landing pad of the Outpost, there they found the waiting Fishlegs as he wafted a burning weed to a still unconscious Fanghook. Astrid made Stormfly drop their quarry on a pad near a cot as his numerous wounds might prove deadly if infection decides to settle in.

Fishlegs dropped the burning weed into a brass urn and lets it burn near Fanghook, he then turned to the wounded enemy as Hiccup also approached and takes off his enemy's mask. They all gasped as they saw a slightly middle aged woman in brown braided hair, she had a tired look on her face, but her most striking trait is the bright bluish-green eyes. Her face held no visible ill will as she studied their faces one by one, they were young adults, and there was much hardship reflected in their eyes. The hallowed look of death though lingered on their leader, an auburn haired youth with bright green eyes. His face was hidden by his riding mask and he was armored in a scale armor designed to resemble a dragon's hide. He was carrying to swords that hung on each side of his belt, yet the hidden blades he used to stab her in the upper chest could not be found. He probably retracted it already, but she knew he could spring it into action in an instant she went hostile.

"Are you from Drago's Army?"

The question was lost on her as Fishlegs began dressing her wounds, on her hips first as he sliced the leather pants open and cleaned the wound with a herb she knew would-

"ow..."

"Oh, sorry-" Fishlegs said sheepishly, "I should have warned you, that weed is very painful. Gothi showed it to me this one time and-"

"I know child- go on with your work."

"You did not answer my question," the leader's of the quasi-Berkians voice interrupted them as she turned her tired gaze up at him, "Are you from Drago's Army? Speak quickly!"

She looked back at him confused at his questions, but wasn't they supposed to be part of his Army now? Hadn't Berk already fallen at the advancing Horde? How could they be against him when- oh if only, "Wait- I am not one of Drago's Army, I have been the one raiding the supply lines of Drago- I was also the one attacking the trapper ships he sent out to capture dragons to make them all bend to his will. I'm not one of them-"

"You lie..." his whisper sent a shiver to her spine as she suddenly felt genuine fear, Cloudjumper can only whimper from afar as his wounds also began to catch up to him. He would have helped her if and only if he didn't need to tussle with four fresh dragons currently standing guard near him. "...if you are truly against Drago then you would not have attacked our outposts? Who sent you then?"

"No one-" she gasped, the pain of the medicine stings her skin yet it kept her awake from the debilitating fear she felt. The voice of her young adversary went cold, calm and soft, she could only shake her head in reply, "I- I've worked alone- for 10 years I have worked alone."

"Then why attack Berk? Our banner flies high-" he points to the Berkian insignia painted on a flag that flaps strongly in the prevailing winds, "-yet you still observe us, learn our techniques, and then attack us over and over again. You even tried taking our dragons-"

"I was freeing them from servitude!"

"They are free to go, they wear no chains, no restraints or are they being controlled by medicine nor magic," he gestured for Toothless and he happily bounded up to him. Valka stared in wonder as the Night Fury showed genuine elation at being called, his eyes were wide and round, as large as dinner plates and his body movements showed he's very, very happy.

Like a large cat beckoned by a family member.

"How is this possible? You have-" she shook her head in amazement, "You have- _trained_ the dragons?"

"We-"

"The Chief is coming!"

From afar twelve other dragons came flying towards the Western Outposts, the large bulky frame of Stoick the Vast was evident as he took the lead with his very large Rumblehorn. Followed closely by Gobber and other riders that made up the former garrison, they flew quickly towards the Outposts as Astrid and Snotlout approached Hiccup.

"He's really mad that you left the safety of Berk."

"He's always mad anyway-"

"Not this time cousin, you exploited a loop hole in his order- he doesn't like that too much."

"Shut up Snotlout, at least I got the mysterious rider."

"-and without no wounds, flawless victory then?"

"Not really," Astrid took out a bottle of antiseptic and dabbed it into a piece of cloth, she then pressed it hard on Hiccup's head wound as he hissed in pain.

"Thor freaking Odinson! Why did you even press it? It hurts Astrid!"

"Serves you right, your dad might get lenient with you."

Hiccup sighed as he shook his head, the Chief of Berk is coming as he said, "I hope so, I mean I didn't really disobey his order. I'm still within the 100 leagues from Berk."

Valka cleared her throat as she listened to their conversation, if what she hears is true then the young man who attacked her and almost killed her is- "May I respectfully ask for your name? The one who defeated me- I wish to know your name."

"Hic-"

"HICCUP HORRENDOUS HADDOCK the 3rd!" the booming voice of Stoick reverberated through the landing area and Valka can only close her eyes as she tried blending towards the cot she was lying into, "How dare you leave Berk and defy your father's express orders!"

"I was just pursuing the lead made by Gustav!"

"So you have pursued it, where is that boy then!?"

"He's-"

"He's okay Chief I already patched him up-"

"Shut your mouth Fishlegs!" Stoick's voice shook everyone as he redirected his fury elsewhere, he gripped his warhammer until his knuckles turned white, "Hiccup, do you not see the risk? What if you were not successful? What if it was a trap? Answer me then!"

"-but I'm not! I won and I got him- or her in this case."

The Chief huffed and then turned to the only cot in the ground, Valka felt his eyes on her as she slowly sat up and faced the Chief of Berk. Stoick the Vast stopped and felt his heart skip a beat his fingers slackened and the warhammer he held in his hand thudded to the ground.

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"Valka," he whispered.

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**To be continued...**

**Author's note:**

**Happy Mother's Day!** _Well, not for Hiccup and Valka at least._

Thanks for reading. Now don't be lazy and tell me what you think, review button is right below.

1 Nautical league is roughly equal to 4 nautical miles... according to my knowledge of course, that probably explains why I'm no navigator.

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Cheers everyone,

Scarabeye3000


	21. Chapter 21

**Reviews as of 5/16/2015:**

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Guest #1 : Thank you for the review, but I kind of agree, best mother's day update ever! XD

Guest #2 : Thank you for the review! Hope you review again! :D

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Shout out to my signed reviews! You know who you are: **TheFishKing****, SMr. Freeze, HickHadok, SharKoHen, The Viking Stranger, dracologistmaster, Riverat73, Kuro kaze no aka akira, Emerald Crater**

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**Disclaimer: Any characters mentioned are all under copyright. This work is purely fan-made.**

**Title: From Asgard to Midgard**

**Author: Scarabeye3000**

**Chapter 21: **_**'Thy soul is complete... hopefully.**_**_'_**

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Western Outposts

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Hiccup stared at the wounded woman on his knees, never have he seen someone as beautiful as her. Tears dribbled on his cheeks as his eyes poured his emotions out in the open. Valka gently smiled as she beckoned her son to come closer, he was just out of arm's reach and he was not closing the last distance. He was hesitant to approach her and quite frankly, why the hell wouldn't he be?

Her current damages are a clean slice on her upper forearm and a deep gash on her right hip rendering her unable to stand up straight, cleaned and dressed of course by Fishlegs under her own guidance. A large bruise on her lips now turned a nasty shade of purple as more tears dribbled on her son's face. Utter remorse, disbelief and sadness gripped Hiccup's emotions right now. It was like everything went spiraling out of control in just a few minutes his father came to their assistance. Stoick was also kneeling in front of Valka, but his face was buried on her hips and he was holding her hands tightly in his large calloused hands.

Vikings are a hardened race, they make the most out of whatever they have, even the bleak northern lands turned out a great host of people in the name of Berk.

However, the women and children in Viking society tend to tug a great string in all the hearts of the hardened warriors whose lives these women might have centered around. Viking women weren't soft, they labored through the day with all kinds of chores for the household, they carried the pain of childbirth, they carried the shields for their house and sometimes swords for their husbands. They are soldiers, leaders, mothers and sisters, and the men know that without a strong woman in their midst, none will hold them together.

So with great regret and remorse, after knowing who Valka truly is, and what she is in his life, Hiccup just went down on his knees and wept bitterly.

How in the Nine Realms did he even get close to killing his own mother in cold blood just because he didn't freaking know!?

She beckoned closer as he remained rooted to his spot, "Come my son, let your mother hold you now."

Obligingly he scooted closer and bowed his head in shame, what kind of son would smite his/her own mother, "I- I'm sorry ma- I didn't-"

"I know, and I am proud to know you grew up well and strong," she sighed and her voice took a stern tone into it, "But I really don't think you should be doing more of those flying on your own stuff. It's fun though I'm pretty sure- but Odin UP above! To leap off of the back of a dragon... in mid-flight!"

Hiccup sniffled as he soaked in the feeling of being reprimanded by a mother, a feeling so foreign to him, yet very pleasant in his heart. He basked at this feeling, this feeling of being absolute, like your fragmented self suddenly found the other half. His mother was found, a little hurt, but still alive after all those years. He also couldn't feel more happy and sad at the situation, happy because he found out that his mother was alive, and sad because they met in such an uncommon way. You don't get to try and kill your long lost mother most of the time... but Odin up above, he was actually on a warpath back then. She might have just dismissed it as his way of protecting Berk, of protecting their homes from an unknown enemy or threat, but her mother didn't know the whole extent of it.

He was slashing to maim, he plunged the hidden blade on her chest to kill, and he was not trying to hold back. He incapacitated his mother in a few movements of his blades, in fact, a few seconds is all it took for him to bring her to her knees. That was the reason why he was so affected, he couldn't get in terms why fate decided to play with them like this. If he had only lowered the aim of the hidden blade, or followed through with the slice he made at her arm, then everything would have been entirely different, he would have been crying in front of a corpse.

Valka wiped his tears with her thumb as she took her son's face in her two hands, never had he felt such obvious love, and in his defense he never thought having a mother felt this way. A sudden rush of affection for one woman filled him with a sense of completeness and fulfillment engulfed his senses. He finally smiled as the Haddocks looked at each other and then Stoick took both of them into his large embrace.

"Oh, my family-" the Chief sighed in happiness, "My family."

Astrid covered her mouth as her eyes moistened, she remembered her mother as she waited at Berk and she felt happiness gushing from the scene in front of her. Even Snotlout cried as his aunt was revealed to be alive, his own mother brought fresh tears on his eyes too, but he wiped it quickly so as not to affect his image. You never know who might tease him later for being sappy and all.

Hiccup finally stood up and Valka finally took one good look at her young man of a son, she smiled as Toothless, sensing that everything was cool now bounded over for a sniff.

"I see you have a Night Fury," his mother said as the black dragon nudged her with his muzzle.

"Yes, and not only that-"

"-did you finally made the leap from fighting dragons to raising dragons?" she turned to Stoick who was smiling proudly beside her, "I was surprised you were able to change."

"Not without obvious help from our son," the Chief beamed as the garrison that went with him began reinforcing the Western Outposts again, "Would you like to know what happened?"

She nodded as Hiccup and Astrid sat beside her together with the senior riders and began their tale.

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A few hours later

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"I see now, 20 years ago I began investigating the relentless dragon raids all over the archipelago," Valka shook her head and sighed, "I already knew that they were coming from Dragon Island and so I went to the island and found out about the Red Death."

She sighed as she continued, "The Red Death was a vicious dragon with 6 eyes and a large snout, it didn't welcome me and quite frankly almost killed me too, its quite intimidating and has the ability to command any dragons to a lesser degree."

"We can pretty much tell, I mean when we cracked that mountain open- every dragon we can think of just ran, they ran for their lives."

"Not a single dragon wanted to fight in the first place," Stoick sighed and shook his head at the memory, "My heart was hammering back then- I thought of avenging you- I thought that one of these dragons murdered you, and I- I just want revenge."

Valka smiled at her husband and squeezed his large hand, "Now, at least I see, you have changed."

"Who knew huh?"

"Yeah, who knew," she then turned and directed her attention to Hiccup, "You are so grown-up now, I'm very proud of you for changing Berk."

He blushed a bit as Astrid elbowed him knowingly, his mother reached for his hand and squeezed it gently. She looked at them and was quite saddened at what she saw, at such a young age Hiccup's hands had numerous scars, a whole lifetime of hardship and training showed as she sighed at the sight. "You have managed to do something, that not even me, your mother was able to do."

Rubbing her sore legs, her eyes saddened but she tried to hide it with her smile, "I was- I was afraid my son, I knew that our kin would not accept the dragons the way I saw them. I knew that it would take a miracle for their lives to change."

"Who knew that my miracle would change everything."

Puzzled, the young man's brow furrowed, "What are you talking about?"

"You were our miracle son," Stoick said as he puts an arm around Valka's shoulders, "I- I never thought that we could be your parents- I was wild, hard, strong and powerful, while your mother was steady, nimble, yet strong-willed. We complimented each other and it was because you were born that we consider it a miracle."

"Every child is a miracle!" Gobber agreed from afar as he carried a piece of lumber to reinforce the smashed wall on the third level, "-or so Gothi said, I can't really remember."

Hiccup smiled in front of his mother enthralled at her sight, an overpowering emotion threatened to burst out of his chest as he took Astrid's hand and blurted out, "Mother, I would like you to meet Astrid, a woman very beloved to me." The blonde valkyrie's blushing face intensified his emotion of elation and it clearly showed in his face, pure happiness with utter joy are reflected in his eyes as the shadow of death and rage vanished entirely from him.

Stoick couldn't believe his eyes, it was like the things that bothered his son suddenly went away at the sight of Valka, at the knowledge that, yes his mother was alive, albeit missing for a few years, but still alive and now he's showing her the most beloved person he has in his life today.

Valka on the other hand was flabbergasted, 20 years is a long time and the last thing she remembered of his son was the dragon figure that she made for him, then suddenly he's introducing the girl he's considering to- Astrid Hofferson?

"Does- does Gunnhild know?"

It was Astrid's turn to be surprised, "You know my mother?"

"Of course my dear, we did sewing and apothecary classes together at Gothi's. Almost every woman went to the elders to learn the women trade, intricate sewing, cooking, preparing the leather, the spoils, home making, all of it are taught by the Elders," she looked appreciatively at Astrid and gently smiled, "Assuming your penchant for fighting, you trained under your Uncle Finn right?"

She looked more shocked than she was before, Valka knew Finn? "Ho- you- you also know my Uncle?"

"Yes! He was one of my suitors when we were still your age," Valka smiled behind at Stoick and gestured for him, "Remember Finn? Fearless Finn Hofferson?"

"Aye! He wasn't called Fearless back then until he met me in battle," the Chief smiled at the long forgotten memory, "You see, I was the Berkian Champion-"

"Figures."

"Hiccup!" Astrid hissed as he clammed up.

"Anyway," the Chief continued, "I was the Champion for Berk, and everybody knew I was courting Valka. But then your uncle started to court her too- boy, did we try upstaging one after the other. It got so bad we even did a _holmgang-"_

"Heavenly Frigga," Valka shook her head at the memory, "That _holmgang_ shook Berk apart, it shook me apart-"

The Heir of Berk interjected, "But why ma?"

"Imagine, the Champion of Berk and the Heir of the Hooligans against the Hofferson Champion- apart from the Jorgensons, the Hoffersons are one of the strongest clans to ever join the Hooligan tribe," Valka patiently explained, "So, whoever loses would definitely carry bad blood with them- but Finn saw the truth before the _holmgang _ was concluded."

"Aye! He withdrew, but not before throwing me a punch and saying take good care of your mother," Stoick chuckled a bit at the memory, "He had a very serious look on his face and- and he never married- never got the chance, a Flightmare took him out a few years later. A great fighter that Finn."

"Paralyzed? A Flightmare you said?" Valka interjected, "That's to be expected, that dragon exudes a smoke that paralyzes everything that inhales it. I guess that's what happened to Finn. Have you hunted it down?"

"Nay! Everyone was afraid of what happened to Finn, they said that he froze of fear from the dragon, but I knew better-" the Chief looked at Astrid and smiled, "Your uncle was a great fighter, very fearless and intimidating. He was worried about you then I know, so when he stood outside to face that dragon, I immediately knew something was not right... and then he was killed with a stone-faced expression on his face. He was truly fearless to the end that man."

Astrid's heart swelled at the praise his Uncle Finn received from the Chief, so he knew that Finn was truly fearless and he regretted that he died from the Flightmare that night. The whole village saw him as a coward instead for freezing and not moving against the Flightmare, of course he would be armed and dragons didn't like us to be armed. If he was paralyzed still holding his axe, then there was no way he could let go of it is there? Affirmed that her Uncle's honor is upheld she smiled at Hiccup knowingly.

"So uh- where have you been all this time?"

Valka faced her son and sighed, "I've been living under the care of the great Bewilderbeast."

"A what?"

Surprisingly she stood up and smiled, using her repaired staff as a crutch she walked over to Cloudjumper with a limp and stroked his broken wing. The large dragon purred, but made no effort to move, she nodded in understanding and turning to her audience she said, "I'll show all of you my sanctuary- it's not far from here."

"But your dragon?"

"Will stay here to rest-" she reassured them as she limped over to Hiccup and said, "Can your dragon carry more than one person?"

"Of course ma," Hiccup immediately stood up and helped Astrid to her feet, Stoick also stood while Gobber walked over to them.

"I'll go with you," Stoick said as he looked at Gobber,"Go back to Berk as soon as you finish reestablishing this garrison. Oh, and that weapon test we'll suppose to be having, I want you to cancel it for now- or if we can go back quickly then we'll be watching it with you."

The blacksmith smiled knowingly and elbowed his old friend, "So uh- quite eager to uh- getting back into Val's good side huh? Should I make the maidens back home for your _happy sack?_" he ran off quickly before Stoick could even recover as the Chief of Berk blushed to the roots of his hair. He turned his back on him surprised to find his wife standing right in front of him, "Ready to go?"

"Uh- yeah, umm... in a minute Val," he took one last look at Gobber giggling like a girl, far from his reach as he huffed indignantly as he called out, "Remind me to cripple your other leg when I get back!"

"Make sure you get the _'fertility tea'_ going eh? Wouldn't want to stop in the middle of your _'tumble and tussle'_ for a little bit of rest for your old _tighty-mighty totem_\- Whoopsy-daisies!" he ducked as a flying warhammer almost smacked him on the face, the errant weapon smashed on a rock as the blacksmith saw Stoick already mounted on Skullcrusher, with his arm still stretched in a throwing motion and looking more livid.

"Don't make me come down here Gobber!"

"Heheh... just go mate!"

Toothless stood up and began heading for the cliff, carrying both Hiccup and Valka he needed the additional boost of the headwinds on his wings to conserve his energy. Nodding his head, the black dragon jumped off as Hiccup's mother whooped in elation, spreading his wings Toothless flapped furiously and made quick his ascent towards the high winds. Stormfly and Skullcrusher followed as the rest of the riders reinforced the outpost and waited for the longboat that Stoick sent after them.

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After thirty minutes of flying Valka pointed them to an island, dominated by a large mountain. Rough stony beaches lined its shores as it looked eerily familiar to the fog-filled Dragon Island. Rock formations dotted the whole island while a few cedar and pine here and there shoot up into the sky. Large patches of snow and ice also frilled the landscape as a similar icicle dome structure covered one side of the mountain. Excitedly, his mother led them to a large pointy rock protruding from the ground, as they landed he could see that it was cleverly hiding a large entrance towards a darkened cavern leading into the mountain. With expert ease, his mother dismounted as all of them followed suit.

"This is the main entrance I always use when I return here- the dragons that come with me, especially if they're quite large already would need to use the upper entrance," she then whistled shrilly and hundreds of squawks and screeches answered.

A great flurry of wings suddenly exploded around them as the hidden dragons, of numerous species, from multi-colored Zipplebacks, to Hobblegrunts, to Snafflefangs, even Scuttleclaws and Nightmares descended upon them from their hidden perches as Valka called out to them. At first they were all snarling and grunting, huffing and puffing their smoke filled jaws, but when they saw that they were unarmed they grew somewhat relaxed and landed near the newly arrivals.

The feeling was like guard dogs reacting to visitors that suddenly invaded your home... only the dogs have jaws that could break a man in half, and breathes fire.

Astrid relaxed a bit as Stoick noticeably sighed, well, they already knew that dragons would never attack humans in normal circumstances, but it was still a nerve-wracking experience. Valka then led them inside the caverns as Hiccup stopped on the edge of the cave, summing up his courage and his innate desire to follow he ploughed forward, followed closely by Astrid and his father with Toothless bringing up the rear.

"I usually use this entrance to quickly get inside the Sanctuary," Valka quickly made her way down into the ground, as she almost glided through the uneven surface of the cooled magma cave, "The larger dragons use a different entrance altogether. Come on! Hurry!"

She beckoned for them to hurry as Hiccup and Astrid hastened to follow. It was surprising, she was supposed to be Stoick's age, but she was as nimble as a fox as she negotiated the left and rights of the caverns, of course she can't compare to his son's agility. However, seeing the Chief struggling with the odd handholds and foot holds scattered around, naturally made by cooled magma, it was astonishing to see her move through the darkness with ease.

Not that it was total darkness, an odd ray of sunshine managed to illuminate a corridor or two of uneven terrain made by almost cylindrical volcanic rocks. Stoick huffed and grunted behind them as Toothless gamely slithered and rolled around the obstacles. Hiccup was the one who was racing to catch up to her, the young girl could feel it, he really didn't like being under the soil. Something she managed to pick up on when he was surveying the underground water tunnels. It was unnoticeable by anyone, but she felt it there. However, the obvious want of having his mother in his sight probably kept him going, so what the Hel huh? He just plunged head long into the darkness of the Earth with the memory of a grim past still haunting him.

Finally, a strong light blinded them as they made their way behind a crevice.

Hiccup, Astrid and Stoick went eyes wide as the whole Sanctuary spilled into their senses. A high-domed ceiling made of icicle greeted them, supported by great beams of icicle, the sun filters through the ice as they all needed no light source inside the Sanctuary. It was so high that dragons, a whole shitload literally, can fly weaving round and round against the great pillars. Moss and lush growth can be seen as numerous streams filter through the volcanic rocks as more dragons converged around them, curious at the odd humans that are visiting their homes. Even Toothless seemed to enjoy himself as he bounded and leaped through the clearing that they have found themselves upon, his eyes wandering he found his mother looking at his expression of wonder and amazement.

"This is where you've been all these years?" he nervously asked her.

She nodded as she agilely leaped down from her perch and smiled serenely at her son, he shook his shoulders, a nervous tic he really needed to address as he said, "Well, its- it's not everyday you get to find out your mother is a- a dragon vigilante lady or something."

He scratched the nape of his neck, another nervous tic she found endearing because she do it herself sometimes, "Oh... well, at least I'm not boring right?" she said happily while laughing lightly.

"How did you survive?"

"Oh Cloudjumper never meant to harm me," she walked over to an overhang as she beckoned for all of them to come closer, "I mean, he must have thought I belong here... the home of the Great Bewilderbeast. The Alpha species- one of the very few that still exist in this world."

Valka smiled as she proudly gestured at the slumbering white dragon, "Every nest, every sanctuary has a Queen like the Red Death, but this is the King of All Dragons. With its icy breath this graceful giant built this nest, a safe havens for the dragons I managed to free everywhere where they live under his care and his command."

Slowly they made their way downwards directly into a path near the Great Bewilderbeast, like a great monarch that welcomes emissary, his mother led them into another small clearing beneath a large waterfall. "Oohh, except for the babies of course," loud tittering could be heard as small, baby Gronckles, Scuttleclaws and Hobblegrunts began to converge on Toothless who retreated in fear back to where Astrid and Stoick was, "-who listens to no one."

Hiccup laughed lightly as the babies then flew away, landed on the face of the great dragon, landing and jumping on the frill's and bony growth on the great King's face. The King opened his large bluish green eyes and the babies scattered playfully around him, he then slowly faced Valka and Hiccup as he looked intensely at the young man in front of him. Toothless, wide-eyed in wonder, began to kneel exactly the way he acted when Odin was in front of him. The King looked majestic and exuded such power that no gestures or grunts were heard, just the moment he laid his eyes on you, you just had to bow. Not being his first time to encounter the Bewilderbeast, Hiccup knew this was a true King of his own realm, so mimicking Valka he puts his arms in a respectful gesture and bowed.

The Great Bewilderbeast examined him, its penetrating gaze seemed to see his soul. It began to turn away, but not beore sending a plume of ice towards his face that froze up his hair and made his mother laugh.

"He likes you!"

"Wow-" he breathed, "He's so majestic."

"So, anyone here hungry?" she asked as they retreated back up into the first clearing where they saw Stoick brushing Skullcrusher's teeth one by one while Astrid smoothed the spikes on her dragon's tail. The Chief walked over to them and said, "So, what did the King tell you?"

Valka frowned, "What do you mean?"

"Mother, I may have told you the gist of what happened at Berk, but I haven't told you what happened to me after the Battle with the Red Death," Hiccup said mysteriously, "Astrid, do you have the memory stone I gave you?"

Obediently, she took out the blank crystal as all three of them were led by Valka into her own halls. A small entrance can be seen carved into a rock face as light filtered it through numerous holes on the ceiling blocked by ice. Once inside she began preparing some stew and boiled some water for the tea, Stoick approached his wife and began assisting her as he began to hum a familiar tune. Hiccup and Astrid went around the whole hall and began exploring it. There were numerous bottles of ointments and possibly potions on one side, while numerous books, some words written in old Norse, others in Latin, while others in Cyrillic. A bed the size of Valka was set on one corner of the dwelling as a large map dominated the large barren wall of one side. A great stone hearth was located in the center providing heat and exhaust can be seen by a large hole in the ceiling, presumably leading outside into the mountainside.

"So, uh... what are your plans now that you can return to Berk?"

Valka almost dropped the pot she was shoving spices into as Stoick continued snapping firewood in two, seriously, he's so strong he can split a two by four piece of wood with his bare-hands. The question came out into the open while the Chief was nonchalantly doing a chore, the old woman shook her head in disbelief and sighed, he never changed that man.

"I don't- I really don't know Stoick," she said sadly.

"Oh... ok." the Chief's voice sounded unnaturally subdued, he usually has a booming voice that commanded respect and obedience, yet now he sounded as meek as a slave. "I just thought that- well, you know... you can come- come back."

"It's not that simple Stoick," Valka reasoned, "The dragon problem at Berk is finished, but what about the whole archipelago? There are still trappers in this world and I- I just can't stop."

"But your family needs you," his voice found its strength at last, "I NEED you Valka."

"I told you it's not that simple, I can't just up and leave here."

"Why not?"

"Because-"

"Because of the dragons? Is that what it is? What about our son?" Stoick's voice began to raise as he turned to face his wife, "What about ME then?"

"Don't be so selfish Stoick-"

"Selfish?" the Chief scoffed angrily at the words, "Me? I'm selfish? Me, who have lost and mourned for his wife,yes I mourned you! Me, who tried raising a child that I have not a bloody clue of what I'm doing! I'm a warrior to my blood and bones Val, how can I honestly raise a child so easily? I endured being Chief, being a father and failed at that, and endured losing you to find out later that your hiding in this cubby hole with your dragons!"

"I am not hiding! I could not approach the problems of dragon acceptance of Berk because you were so adamant in exterminating them," Valka also stood her ground, Thor in Heaven, their similarities never ceases, "If only you would have listened sooner then things wouldn't have blown up in the first place."

"Don't blame me on this!"

"I don't blame you per se, I blame our society, a collective hate for something we have no idea or understand," she shook her head as Stoick breathed down on her, "Don't you see? After 20 years, we're still having the same arguments..."

The Chief breathed heavily and tried to relax, he was livid at her audacity to blame him, but it was true, he was hurt a lot when he found out that she was still alive and never tried to return to Berk at least once. He was also very relieved and grateful to Frigga for giving the chance for him to see her again, but this blame game they're playing won't have a good ending at least. He is a changed man, ever since Hiccup was lost and returned he knew he changed, so calmly he breathed slowly and faced his wife. He looked at her scowling face and approached her slowly, she was defensive he could sense it, but he moved forward and cupped her cheek with his large calloused hands.

"I'm sorry Valka, I was very hurt when you died," Stoick began as Val blushed lightly, whoo! It's like they were teens again. "I cursed the Gods for taking you away from me."

Her silence made him tight-lipped, but he forced the words out of his heart, "You are as beautiful on the day that I lost you."

Stoick's head came down and kissed his wife gently on the lips, Val yielded to her husband as they shared their first kiss after 20 years. A single tear fell out of her eyes as relief flooded her heart, was this the same hard-headed man he married?

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_"I'll swim and sail on savage seas," _Stoick began softly as he continued to hold Valka's gaze, _"With ne'er a fear of drowning."_

_"And gladly ride the waves of life_

_if you will marry me. _

_No scorching sun, nor freezing cold,_

_will stop me on my journey,_

_"if you will promise me your heart," _his eyes looked pleading as he broke his gaze and sighed defeated, _"and love-"_

Valka's high pitched voice reached his ears as she looked at him hopefully, "_...And love me for eternity."_

_"My dearest one, my darling dear,_  
_Your mighty words astound me,"_

_"But I've no need for mighty deeds,_

_when I feel your arms around me."_

Stoick's took a loud and proud tone on his voice as he continued an old ode of love.  
_"But I would bring you rings of gold,_  
_I'd even sing you poetry!" _

Valka said, "Oh, would you now huh?"

_"And I would keep you from all harm_  
_if you would stay beside me!"_

Hiccup's parents began to dance merrily, their feet stamping on the stone floor as they got in the mood of the song.

_"I have no use for rings of gold,_  
_I care not for your poetry._  
_I only want your hand to hold..."_

Stoick and Valka's eyes met and happiness gushed forth from them, _"I only want you near me!" _they spun and they danced together as the song came into a mixed tone of high and lows, of a speed that induced happiness and elation that everything in the world freezes for the two people who have pledged their lives together.

_"To love and kiss, to sweetly hold!_  
_For the dancing and the dreaming!_  
_Through all life's sorrows and delights,_  
_I'll keep your love inside me!"_

_"I'll swim and sail on savage seas_  
_with ne'er a fear of drowning!_  
_And gladly ride the waves of life_  
_If you will marry me!"_

Both of Hiccup's parents were laughing and joy was reflected into their eyes, they share a moment of silence before Stoick, much to Valka's suprise and delight, "I love you Valka, and I will accept any decision you will come across. For I love you beyond my reckoning and I am willing to go the distance, if I must, so as not to drive you away from my love again."

"I love you and respect you my wife, you are my equal in this world, and none shall take your place."

Valka giggled like a blushing bride as she embraced her husband and looked up at him, "Was that your wedding vow to me?"

"I don't know what you're talking about?"

"Did you practice that?"

Stoick blushed, busted, "Did it sound rushed?"

"No, it was very sweet- come here and kiss me you big oaf!" she grabbed his beard, not that many people can do that, and dragged him down to her level to give him another kiss. The kiss lingered for more than a minute as sloppy noises can be heard from the two-

"Ehem!" Hiccup cleared his throat as Stoick and Valka separated quickly, looking positively alarmed at their son's voice, "In case you've forgotten we-" he gestured to Astrid and him, "-are still here and watching."

"Oh! Right then," Stoick released Valka and turned back to the hearth as he quickly started a fire, his wife laughed softly behind him as she brought the pot of stew to the flame the Chief made. With the pot of stew beginning to simmer on top of the fire, Hiccup and Astrid gathered his parents to a makeshift table and placed the now glowing crystal in front of them.

"Now mother, whatever you will see- everything is real and by the Gods it helped me become the young man that I am now, please, please don't over react," he pleaded as Valka raised her eyebrow. "Ok, what am I supposed to see?"

The Heir of Berk touched the memory stone in a circular motion and lights began to play on the surface of the once clear crystal, as the light show began, Hiccup's mother sat entranced at the images beginning to play before her eyes.

"Mother, let's start where the Red Death almost killed me..."

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An hour later

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The stew offered a pleasant distraction from the images the memory stone showed them, Valka was shown_ Agni and Rudra, _then his armor, then his peculiar ability to see what other dragons could see. His battle prowess, the wars and battles he fought in the name of Asgard, his mentor Loki, and some of the tricks he could do except his mirror imagery to his mother.

Stoick was shocked, it was the first time he knew about the horror of underground fighting in the Realm of Alfheim. It was also the first time he knew of his son's inherent fear of going beneath the earth, also it explains his battle prowess as he worked with the soldiers of the great God Loki himself. It was also the first time he saw Loki in his own image, in their eyes he was portrayed as a horned God, with black eyes and dark overflowing hair. Large bulky body that could easily pass for a_ Jotun_, but the real image couldn't have been more false.

Instead, what they saw was a tall, slender man, with almost glowing alabaster skin, impossibly green eyes, black shiny hair combed back and oiled, and impeccably dressed like royalty. His green, armor with silver trimmings fitted him like a glove as he dons a mask that hids half his face and covers his mouth for the protection of lesser men. In his own son's words, he wears the mask to hide his face, and make sure that not everyone falls under his allure and spell. A mere whisper, a few honeyed words and the Trickster could make any person fall under his powerful innate spell.

Valka on the other hand looked absolutely troubled.

His son suffered too much in her eyes, when he was taken into Asgard, it was like he was dragged into a war that he had absolutely no reason to join to. All this fighting and warmongering didn't sit well with his mother and he could feel it with her tight-lipped expression and ever present scowl as the memory stone showed the events of his arrival at the Battle of Berk. The memory stone's light finally waned as it showed him removing his mask in front of Stoick, triumphant in his return in the midst of his people with Drago's blood smeared oddly on parts of his armor.

"I don't know what to say," his mother finally spoke as the light's died on the memory stone, "I'm grateful you're alive and all, but they turned you into a- a warlord? A warrior unmatched as far as I can tell- and yet you barely left your twenties."

She sighed and shook her head, "At least you're alive my son," she took his hand and squeezed, Hiccup held his breath, that went better than he expected. When she saw him jump off of Toothless back she was quite shocked as well too, but this new revelation didn't seemed to faze her that much.

It was as if she knew that his abilities had something to do with forces unnatural to their world.

"We have to get going then," Stoick said as he stood up and picked up his dishes, another trait Valka noted that he didn't do before, "The sun is almost out and we still need to test the weapon you and Gobber copied from an Eastern design."

"Oh my goodness, was that today?" Hiccup panicked as he took out his notes while Astrid took the dishes and began clearing the table, "Why didn't you remind me dad?"

"It's your mother's fault-" he insisted then pointed accusingly at him, "-and yours."

"Huh?"

"Why me? Us, I mean?"

"Well, she attacked the Western Outpost, while you came after her- so both of you side-tracked that weapons test for today."

"Thor almighty, if the twins ever-"

"Holy Odin's beard! I forgot the twins!" Stoick looked back at him alarmed, "I asked Gobber to prepare the bombard- they could blow up the whole island!"

With a frantic rush they prepared their mounts as the Chief turned back to Valka, "We're leaving- would you be joining us?"

Valka bit her lower lip and looked at her husband, she gave a small nod as Stoick replied with a smile of his own.

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Berk

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Gobber sighed as he extracted the bombard from its stone base, the bombard, a design copied by Hiccup from a book he purchased that was being peddled by a wandering Eastern trader. Using bronze as a base metal, they melted the numerous weapons acquired from the Roman and Greek city states that they were able to make one almost twelve feet long. According to his calculations it could boost the defenses of their island in case, the dragon force from which they derived their main battle plan should fail.

It was a just in case protocol.

So with a heave and final sigh from exhaustion, Gobber the Belch walked out of the forges with his dragon Grump in tow. He was carrying an odd cylindrical object as the large acid green dragon lazily floated in the air. He slowly followed his rider to the arena as a few Vikings greeted him and called out to his rider in return. Unbeknownst to him, two blonde haired Viking, with the most naughty-filled eyes, could be seen trailing behind him.

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**To be continued...**

**Author's note:**

Alright, some really overdue updates for you people.

Hawmygawd! Family issues solved!

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Cheers,

Scarabeye3000


	22. Chapter 22

Reviews as of June 12, 2015

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(Guest): No guest this update.

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**Shout out to, SMr. Freeze,**** jlhghighlander, Code Musica, SharKohen, The Viking Stranger, dracologist master, UnbreakableWarrior **for their signed reviews.

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**Disclaimer: Any characters mentioned are all under copyright. This work is purely fan-made.**

**Title: From Asgard to Midgard**

**Author: Scarabeye 3000**

**Chapter 22: _'Thy Master comes.'_**

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Berk

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Hiccup raced back towards Berk as he skipped the Western Outpost, Astrid together with Valka who rode on Skullcrusher's back with Stoick decided to make a detour there to check on Cloudjumper's injuries and if he can go back to Berk yet. As he flew through the highest point, the Heir of Berk and his mount disappeared into the clouds to catch more headwinds to aid them in their flight. Now, as far as flying goes its not one of the easiest things to do, you don't just jump on the back of the dragon and sit there like its Snoggletog Day. Oh no, you had to deal with a lot if you want the freedom that goes with flying dragons.

First is you need to have the strength to stay on top, especially with Toothless when he suddenly veers left or right. Any rider tends to slide off the middle of the saddle and that is one thing you don't want happening to you. You could suddenly be thrown off, or your lifeline could snap and you would feel the most exhilarating free fall of your life. The constant beat of the wings also put stress on the bodies of the riders as the bucking of the dragon as it propels itself in the air also adds to the stress, not to mention the gale force winds slapping into your face that also threatens to unbalance you off the saddle.

But what they really didn't expect was that the higher you get, the less air you can breathe.

Odin up above! Why in the whole of Midgard did they forget to mention that as you go higher you lose air in the process. Gasping and losing consciousness are great symptoms of oxygen asphyxiation and quite thrilling to lose consciousness 30000 feet in the air. It was something he read in the books of knowledge back in Asgard, something called the atmosphere and how it acts like a wall that impairs your advance as you go higher into the clouds. The farther you go from a realm, the harder the obstacle you must face. Space between the realms are called voids, and in this void no air could exist because the Gods made it that way. Now, the Bifrost is one way to circumvent that, another one is the Yggdrassil branches that are scattered throughout the known Realms.

So with that in mind, none can dismiss the pain and effort a rider endures to obtain the absolute thrill of freedom among the clouds.

Toothless then turned his head to the side and caught sight of Hiccup, he was still focused and his form still sharp, yet the dragon could notice a few things that he broke from protocol. Usually, he puts the hook on the lifeline inward and he smooths the line so it won't snag, but now its got some tight knots and his hands keep twitching involuntarily. His swords too are on the wrong position, he usually puts it behind him and rest the blunt side of the blades on the saddle, but the twin swords hang lazily on his sides the sharp side dangerously close to the saddle and to Toothless.

The black Night Fury grunted and huffed, Hiccup smiled and pats him reassuringly, "I know, I know- I'm not really like this, it's just I'm so tired buddy. Aren't you tired yourself?"

Toothless rumbled his body and he felt the vibrations through the saddle, "Oh, you're hungry too huh? Ok, how about we go to the arena first then after that we'll go to the wharf to get one-" the dragon took a sudden dive as Hiccup hangs for dear life, "-ok! OK! Level your flight Thor Almighty! Two then! Two baskets of fish- you useless reptile!"

With the Island of Berk in view and the Night Fury finally leveling his flight, they quickly swooped down to the arena as Gobber can be seen setting up a weird cylindrical object. Even from up high, one can see that the object looked similar to weapons already employed by the Chinese, a bombard or a cannon at least, was aimed at the sea with numerous Vikings, including some of the Council gathering around the blacksmith to watch him with his work.

Landing first on his hind legs and then walking forward while flapping his wings, Toothless gave a relatively soft landing that minimized the jostling he usually had to deal with his own dragon.

"So, are we ready?"

Gobber nods and pats the cylindrical weapon, "Aye! Everything is prepared including the barrels we would use."

Hiccup sighed in relief, if everything went well then the twins were nowhere to be seen, "Well that's good, are the black powder under heavy guard?"

"Yes, yes- you are such a worry wart," the blacksmith took a cylindrical round that fits exactly into the hole of the bombard and showed it to him, "This is what came out of the mold you made."

"I expected it to be more of a concave shape -" the young man sighed, a bit disappointed with his work, but it might have to do for now. He held up a copy of a modern shape of a Minie ball and twirled it in his hands. It was heavy, fit for a cannon and very solid, according to his calculations, with the bombard design he bought from Johann, and a Ming Kingdom trading junk that passed on the east outpost where he acquired an Eastern firecracker cannon design made of wood and paper. They combined the two designs and made a prototype of a modern cannon that uses brass as the main weapon, and heavy lead minie ball prototypes as projectiles.

"Well, we get what we can get."

"Agreed," Gobber nods and picks up a small barrel made out of wood. A small opening was hammered shut with a cork sealed with melted wax as the large man easily removed it with his corkscrew hand attachment. Hiccup took a measuring cup and began pouring the black sandy substance into the tool he's using. Some of the warriors of Berk who had nothing else to do filled the bleachers as the rest of the Riders including the Chief and Astrid finally arrived. The two new arrival stepped near him as he asked without turning his head, "Where's mother?"

"She's at the outpost, she's trying to coax her dragon to fly," the Chief approached and looked down at the delicate measurements Hiccup was doing, "She forced me to go here after I described to her what the weapon's test is for today."

Hiccup turned to his father and winced, "Did she scream her head off?"

"No, but that didn't stop her from berating me why I let you do this things.

"Does she still not accept the fact what happened to me?"

Stoick looked grim as he watched his son preparing the weapon, "I think she blames me a little- your mother has an enormous capacity to love, and because of that she gets hurt real deep when something like that happens."

"She looked fine to me," he took a piece of paper and used it as wadding following the black powder he poured inside the cannon, "I mean she saw my benefactor, yet she didn't react."

"Because she didn't want you to worry," Stoick sighed, "Mothers are that way my son, they worry very much about their children because that is how Lady Frigga taught them in the emerald dream following their birth."

Hiccup shrugged, "She may have mentioned something of that thread in passing."

Gobber approached carrying the lead projectile, he puts it inside the cannon as Hiccup rams it down with a plunger made from a long wood with a wad of cloth tied to the end. Ramming it tight he then retrieved the plunger and the blacksmith carried it into a wooden rack, 3 foot high and aimed towards the sea. Hiccup squints down at the small opening at the end and plunges a stiff piece of cotton, glistening in the sun with black gunpowder in it. He then turned to everyone and said, "Everyone might want to stand back for a minute?"

Stoick, Astrid and Gobber stepped back near the edge of the ring as their dragons shielded them with their bodies, Toothless eagerly waited with them as the Heir of Berk took out _Agni _and lightly touched the makeshift wick. It lighted up quickly and its flame licked the wick fast enough that Hiccup almost didn't have time to vanish into the shadows.

Reappearing beside Stoick, Hiccup winced as the sound of the burning wick reached their ears.

"Brace yourselves!"

The watchers turned jittery in their seats as the hissing sound of the burning wick almost hit a crescendo, they sat on the edge of their seats as the smoking wick stopped as the fire finally snuffed itself outside and entered inside the small hole designed for lighting up cannons. But after a few seconds of still silence they began to look at each other sheepishly.

"Maybe we got it wrong?"

"That's impossible! I followed the procedure to the letter!" Hiccup scratched his nape irritably, "I mean, I think we got the gist of it."

"Did it get wet? Maybe the powder got wet?"

"It drizzled last night- maybe it seeped into the barrel."

"I sealed it with wax boy," Gobber and Hiccup began to approach the bombard cautiously, you never know, "-it was under guard just like what you ordered."

There was a moment of silence as they approached and then- **BOOM** a colossal explosion rocked some Vikings off their feet while Hiccup and Gobber stood rooted in the ground at mid-step. They were about three feet when the bombard spew out smoke and fire and expelled the projectile high into the air, they saw it sail upwards into the heavens and then fall down to the frothing sea below. With smoke billowing and the screaming cheers of everyone behind them, the blacksmith turned to his apprentice and smiled.

"Well, don't that beat all huh?"

Hiccup laughed a little as some soot marred his nose, "Whew! That was a relief- I really thought it misfired. Uhhh, want to do it again?"

"I never really saw the range."

"Neither did I."

"Again?"

"Again!" Gobber exclaimed as he grabbed the powder barrel and another lead shot.

As they prepared for another shot, Ruff and Tuff looked at the shadows and smiled. Oh-ho, a unique opportunity to prank the whole island has presented itself. Unknown to them, a Viking who is relatively new at Berk looked on with a grim face not taking his eyes off the Heir of Berk. He had unusually pale skin and he looked young for his age, yet none paid him no mind. He took one last look at Hiccup and walked away back into the darkness of the shadows.

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Later that night, Hiccup sat in front of his desk behind the blacksmith's shop and contemplated their completed projects so far. For Berk, everything that could be fixed has been fixed, the whole of Berk is now connected with a primitive road. A heavily packed dirt road at that, but still a road that can be used to ease the transport and walking time of each and every villager. Water supply, which they take from the mountains have grown stable and now wells and primitive fountains are being designed to make the water disseminate to everyone more quickly. Food production too is at an all time high, using dragons to assist in farming and fishing proved very easy and beneficial. The dragon's can easily clear and cut wood using their wings or fiery breath, while the farmers can step in afterwards and take care of planting the seeds for their crops.

Fishing fleets enjoy the additional strength and capabilities offered by dragons, especially in maneuvering in windless waters. Frayed nets and snapped lines are not a problem as the dragon seemed to have an automatic response in each and every problem their 'humans' might have for them.

But the Heir of Berk can't dismiss the military arm of Berk.

Cythrax Bladetongue is out there and has amassed a Cabal of followers and commands a Coalition, which is hell-bent on bringing Berk to it's knees. How could he defend his home? How can he protect the people that are close to him? How can he protect everyone?"

He shook his head, trying to banish the scary images pushing its way into his mind. A Berk burning, his father's face covered in blood, his mother's severed head on a silver platter, his friends drowning in a pool from their own blood, and Astrid broken and ravaged by the enemy made him squint his eyes as he hissed in pain at the image in his mind.

Gods in Asgard!

He needed to protect his family.

There was no other driving force upon which he poured himself 100 percent to the work, the safety of his kin, and so with that in mind he began to sketch a cannon design that he was planning to mount on top of the Great Hill, which is actually a mountain, using the Gronckles again as earth moving equipment. It would be 84 feet in length, with a width of about 16 feet, and a traversing height of 12 feet. Their small prototype bombard could be manned by five or six people at most and used as defensive measures for the outposts, but this cannon he was designing must be able to reach the horizon and strike their targets from afar and crewed by at least seven people.

Now, dragon riding is good and very effective, but what about home defense? Their island is their home, if it's taken then there's nothing left. So now he sketched the designs for this grand weapon, he'll probably use Gronckle iron for this. A hard, robust iron concentrate ore that has proven impervious to explosive forces, also its quite easy to obtain considering their high number of trained Gronckles. With the dimensions he's planning it would give them a maximum effective range of about 20 miles. A complete battery of them would rain hell on their enemies, Hiccup was so preoccupied with his project that he didn't notice the door opening and a lithe body coming in.

"What are you doing?"

Hiccup stood up quickly in surprise and yelped in pain as he promptly bashed his head in the low ceiling. Frakkin hell, was he that small before? With tears stinging his eyes, and his hands rubbing the sore spot he looked on the door and saw Astrid with an amused grin on her face.

"I'm so glad you find my pain to be very funny?"

She giggled playfully as she walked over to his small bed and sat down, "Yes, yes I do find you funny- especially when you bash your head on the ceiling."

The young man sighed while laughing a bit, "Just so you know, I was this small-" he made a gesture of measuring his teenage self's height, "-then when Gobber made this room for me. Apparently, before I became his apprentice this room was where he kept the hay and iron ore he got from the mountains."

"You look tired," she said as she pointed out the black rings under his eyes, "You haven't slept well since we came back from your_ 'kidnapping'_ by the Burglars."

"I sleep pretty good," he stood up his full height, taking care not to stretch too much and hit the ceiling again and joined Astrid on the bed. "Because I have two beds, I can sleep here or at the house-"

"-so why aren't you at the house?"

"Are you kidding me-" Hiccup huffed, blushing as he lied down on the bed with his feet dangling on the floor and the blonde girl sitting right beside him, "My mother just came home from being lost."

"You don't want to go home because of your mother?"

The young man sighed and closed his eyes, his hand found hers and their fingers intertwined with each other. "It's not that, I mean- well, my dad was kind of lonely for twenty years and- you know."

"I'm a shield maiden Hiccup, not a fortune-teller."

"Agh! My old man is_ kind of-"_ the young man sighed, his blush hidden by the single candle light on his bedside table_, "I think he wants to 'get it on'- fly me to the moon_\- you know, _dusting the furs_\- _knocking their boots_ _together?_"

"Thor Almighty! You mean- _'that'_ right?

"Yeah, I mean- she is technically STILL his wife, and the business of a husband and wife is to make more-" he said awkwardly, "-I don't know, more husbands and wives?"

Astrid giggled and looked down at his blushing face, "So, you don't want to hear your dad's groaning through the walls."

"Gah! Thank you for bringing that in the fore of my mind Astrid," that single thought brought a shiver to his body as the young woman giggled playfully, "That image would stay with me until I can find something else that could shake the foundations of my thinking."

"Will this help?" she asked him softly as she lowered her head and gave him a light kiss. Hiccup's eyes flew open as the unexpected kiss jolted his mind. What in Frigga's loom of fate is happening? "U-usually I'm coming after you. It's a rare thing for you to initiate the chase-"

"I don't know, maybe all this craziness can take shape or maybe I'm the crazy one here."

She lied down next to him as they shared the bed together, doing mainly nothing and just enjoying each other's warmth. Astrid shifted to the side as Hiccup audibly hissed in pain.

"What?"

"I think it's a good idea for you to lose the armor," the Heir of Berk said sheepishly, "I mean, spiked skirt is beautiful and great in protection and all. But man it sure does prick a lot."

Astrid giggled again as she stood up and easily undid the belt holding the offending armor on her shapely waist, she also removed her leather armor and returned to the small bed with a much easier breathing space. Hiccup had already shed his own protection whenever he would settle down for the night, as she cuddled closer to him and looked into his eyes. Ocean blue met forest green as the two young adults felt their hearts beat in sync, it had been a few weeks now when she would find him sulking and plotting again in some secluded part of Berk and they would share a bed together, not as a couple though, but as- hell, I don't know, maybe umm-friend?

Either way, the rumor mill started turning even before Valka's raids on Berk even began, with him obviously favoring her most of the time, and the constant shower of affection by Hiccup to her is a dead giveaway. Stolen glances whenever they would meet didn't go unnoticed as their sometimes midnight rendezvous happens only for an undetermined time and random chances.

"What are you thinking?"

"You."

Astrid guffawed, "Obviously, well... aside from me."

"I was thinking of getting married, having kids-" he stopped as the blonde girl dropped a balled up fist on his waiting face.

"-seriously."

"Ok, I was thinking about Berk ok," he closed his eyes unable to meet her gaze, "It's just that I feel that everything is going too fast- our enemy is coming out of the wood works, our military is improving everyday, our village grows rapidly to the point that sometimes even I forget the updates I get from the _Jarl's _every time we have our daily meeting. I think- I think I'm overdoing things, but I can't stop all this thoughts rushing into my head."

"I wish you wouldn't think about it too much-" her palm touch his cheek and a warm rush of emotion filled his heart, in between the skipped beats, "-I only wish is that whenever you would feel weak, I would be there to help you."

Hiccup sighed and gave the girl lying next to him a kiss on the head, "I love you so Astrid."

"I love you too," she whispered in the darkness.

"Astrid?"

"What now Hiccup?"

"You're so impatient-"

"You're so cheeky then! Just ask me!"

"Do you think they won't catch us if you sneak back into your room in the morning?"

An extended silence as he strained his ears to understand her mumble.

"What was that?"

"I said, 'I don't think my parents would mind'."

"Oh, well- good night then Astrid."

"Night Hiccup," she breathed as they both closed their eyes.

"..."

"..."

"Hiccup?"

"Huh? What?"

"Do you carry tools on the bed?"

"No, they're all in the forges. Why?"

"Well, that better be a hammer poking me in the hips."

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Meanwhile

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Another young man of Hiccup's age and build stalked the darkened hallways of the arena, the prototype bombard was left sitting on top of a mounting rack that they used a couple of hours ago when they tested the weapon with great promise in the middle of the dragon arena. It's isolated perch can be guarded from afar and also can station fewer guards. The lead shots that is used as projectile are safe behind a large cupboard where Gobber also keeps the cups and dishes that they use to measure the black gunpowder charges so no accidents can happen, and nothing is left to chance.

But the shots and the bombard was not his priority target. Not yet at least.

The black powder room, a small room requisitioned by Hiccup to be used as the store room for the explosive powder that they used awhile ago. I mean, come on, why wouldn't he even try to at least use the cannon once. The first time they saw it spew out fire and destruction his eyes and ears practically gushed rainbows at the sight.

"Hey!" Tuff approached the two guards that manned the doors at the powder room, "Mulch wanted to see you both."

"Like hell-" the guard scoffed, "Nice try Tuff, but you're father expressly forbid us not to leave this room with you just hanging around."

"You don't trust me? Come on, I wouldn't hurt a fly," the young man gave his most convincing smile and shrugged his shoulders, "-besides, I'm going with you two. Apparently, dad doesn't want me near this place, but Mulch really wanted to talk both of you about something."

The two guards looked at each other as they read the situation, it was not uncommon for Lugnut to point out errands to his son, but Mulch? What could possibly be the reason that he wanted to talk with them. It wasn't routine, but it seems okay since he's coming with them and not going to leave them alone with the powder. Both nodded at each other as Tuffnut smiled mischievously and led the way where Mulch was spending his evening.

As they rounded a bend, another one with the same sandy blonde hair stepped out of the shadows. Ruffnut like her brother also wear her long blonde hair in braids, but that is where their similarities end. Growing older the shapes of their faces tend to mature differently, Ruff's eyes were like slits while Tuff's were wide and open, her body also took on a more feminine shape now that they're older, and her usual skill advantage over her twin have begun to blur now that his body is also growing in strength.

But their mischievousness knows no bounds.

She approached the door and saw a large lock especially made by Gobber hamper her progress, she grinned as she took out a flat rectangular bar that's tapered at the end and can easily fit inside the locking mechanism. Jiggling up and down, her smile brightened as the tumbler finally turned and the lock came free. Quickly removing the lock and throwing the door open her eyes was met with darkness as numerous barrels, stacked up to the ceiling, greeted her eyes.

"Thor's hammer! Best idea ever!"

She squealed like a kid on Snoggletog day as she grabbed two barrels and walked outside, taking care to replace the lock and sealing the door. Ruff ran towards the opposite side as the voice of the guards came cursing back from the bend.

"That is the last time that idiot son of Thornston would lead me somewhere!"

"Don't blame me, technically, he's your nephew!"

"Shut up and return to your post!"

Both guards now sported very wet armors and furs, not that it hurted them, but wet fur doesn't really smell good. Plus, they still have the whole night to stand watch of the gunpowder. The burliest of the two grabbed the lock and tested its integrity by shaking and pulling on it, satisfied that everything is in order he turned around and resumed their posts, oblivious to the already missing barrels of gunpowder from the stock.

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Ruff ran towards the arena center as Tuff waited with the long rod that Hiccup used to ram everything tightly inside the bombard. She dropped the two barrels as her brother produced two lead shots from his saddle bag.

"Where the hell did you get that?" she asked trying to catch her breath.

"You know where I got this," the male of the twins wiped his wet forehead, "You won't believe how much fish I gave his dragon to shut him up and distract him."

"Ok, now get that barrel over here stupid- I didn't know it could break a girl's back carrying that thing!"

Both of the twins labored and wrestled to get one of the barrels near the bombard. Fortunately, the bombard is heavy and cumbersome, taking it would be extremely hard and foolhardy and nobody thought of putting any guards on it. So now the twins pried open the barrel and their eyes twinkled at the sparking powder in the near darkness of the arena.

"How much do you think we should put?"

"Let's fill it up!"

"I don't think that's wise."

"Since when have we done something wise?"

Tuff's smile showed his teeth as he dumped the whole contents of the barrel into the bombard. Ruff packed it in with the plunger her brother managed to acquired somewhere and rammed it tight. They've put some wadding to keep the vacuum inside the bombard and finally put the shot inside. Aiming the bombard again to the sea, they propped it up and slid a dry wick inside the fuse hole. The fuse soon burned slowly to oblivion.

.

Ingermann Halls

.

Fishlegs sat in front of his table inside his room, Hiccup told him about an armor that their friend managed to make for all of them. However, one problem that their leader plopped on his lap is a suitable cloth underneath that could act as secondary armor that can protect their invulnerable points. For example, in between the arms, the neck area, the armpits, even the shoulder and armor joints.

It should be flexible, hard to pierce, and fire-resistant.

If only Meatlug was here, but she's tending to her eggs and they tend to explode any minute now so currently she's sequestered inside the Dragon Hangars. Rubbing the stubble on his chin, he could help but compare it to dragon's skin- hard, bulbous, sometimes hard and scaly, flexible like cow leather and could stand up to high tempera-

"Wait a second-" a light of inspiration ignited on his mind as he began rummaging on a nearby cupboard. Knocking wooden sculptures, some miscellaneous papers, a few bottles with potions and medicines. He kept moving things aside until finally he extracted a 3 feet piece of rolled hard parchment.

Rather, it was a piece of molted leather that he acquired after Meatlug shrugged it off on her first time doing so under his care.

Taking a piece of lighting wick, he puts it into his oil lamp and made a small fire. Prepping the molted dragon leather, he puts the fire into it and lets it sit for awhile.

A smile crept on his face as the leather's integrity stayed and the fire didn't burn through. Fishlegs smiled and sighed in relief.

"Eureka," he gasped, "I have found it."

.

Forges of Berk

.

Their breathing synchronized as they lay still, side by side on the small bed. Granted, it was not the most comfortable place to sleep and truly relax, but it gave much more in the cuddle and holding each other department. With her spiked skirt removed, he could actually hold Astrid tight against him as he inhaled her scent. She on the other hand listened and enjoyed the feel of his hands on her, the innocent touch without the urgency, or the wanton need of the flesh. They held each other in the silence, and in their alone time together.

"Hiccup?"

"Yeah?"

"What are you thinking now?"

"Why do you ask?"

"The 'tool' that was poking me is gone."

He blushed at her brazen question, Thor's hammer, this girl used to admonish him for his hungry touches and hot kisses most of the times, but now- oh he would never fully understand the mind of a woman.

"Did you miss it?"

"Not really," she giggled and playfully said, "It was kind of small."

"Sma- small?" he spluttered, but quickly recovered, "Hold on, you're teasing me aren't you?"

"Serves you right for ignoring me," she tilted her head backwards and looked at him from the edge of her ocean blue eyes, "Did you really think I would be happy with just the gifts you've been giving me? I want your attention Hiccup."

"And you shall have it," brushing his lips on her ear sent bolts of electricity tingling down both of their spines, where in hell did that come from? His hot hands found her yielding arms and rubbed his calloused hands on the bare skin of her arms. She sighed and found the furs suddenly feels much softer, his hands suddenly shot out from underneath and puts one of his hands under her tunic and gamely rubbed her belly. Her hair stood on end at the contact as both bodies seemed oblivious of the cold weather blowing outside. He was pinching and rubbing, and caressing with such obvious need and want that she dare not look into his green eyes.

She feared that she would easily give in with the obvious greed and lustful glint his eyes have taken as he got on his knees above her and lingered on top of her.

"Are you afraid?"

She can only whimper as Hiccup dangerously grinned at her reaction, whoo! When did he had this effect on her? Before he would usually tease her, kiss her in front of everybody, or hold hands and look lovingly in her eyes. But as she opened her eyes and met his hungry gaze, she could almost hear her clothing torn asunder with his snake-like stare. She felt exhilarated as Hiccup slowly brought his lips onto her own and they hurriedly joined in a heated exchange.

His whisper jolted her to the core, "Astrid, I need you-"

Her nod was all it took for him to lose control and she felt him dive for her. Her dress was quickly removed revealing her alabaster nudity in front of her. Her skin looked as soft as silk and completely smooth and so far wasn't scarred. Toned and lean she was in excellent shape as she unashamedly showed herself in front of him. Hiccup quickly followed suit as he removed his cloth tunic, she could only gasp at his sight, even from the low light she could see the scars from his training, from his battles, from his wars. Every scar was different, some an angry red, others a simple thin line, while others obviously needed stitches that rose out of his skin and formed prominent scarring. Not that it made him ugly, on the contrary, it made him fiercer in her eyes, braver, much, much stronger than the young man she saw before riding the Night Fury... and possibly sexier?

Blasted hormones.

True, this past few weeks they've been sneaking around. Exchanging kisses, light touches, exploring each other's 'benefits', and keeping their hormones in check. But by the Gods, this time, this time for sure it's really different. She could feel it, from his touch, his caress, even from his 'tool' that's poking her again in the thigh. She didn't mind, she was not afraid, on the contrary- she felt ready. His hands held the ends of her body and was slowly making its way downward to her lower hips.

"Hiccup-" she moaned his name in anticipation as the young man responded with renewed urgency.

Tugging on the straps on her leather pants, he was eagerly clawing to loosen the tight fabric-

.

**BOOM!**

.

Both shot up straight all adrenaline and lust flushed out of their bodies as a loud explosion rocked almost half of Berk. A bright orange light seeped in from the closed window as Hiccup stood up and headed for it, all thoughts of copulation forgotten as an emergency blew up in front of his face. As he slammed the window panes open, all he could see was a large mushroom cloud coming from the arena as he shouted outside in sexual frustration and anger.

"You frakking twins!" he shook his fist in the air towards the burning arena.

Ducking his head back inside, he quickly dressed as Astrid also puts her tunic over her head, "What happened?"

"The twins!" he exclaimed, "They blew up the Dragon Arena!"

"They what?" she squeaked as she straps on her leather armor and her spiked skirt. Hiccup forgone every armor he has and just straps on his twin short swords. He forcefully opened the door, as if the inanimate object did him personal harm and headed outside into the darkness of the forges. But as Astrid followed him into darkness, he quickly shoved her back to his room as the sound of whooshing and clashing blades reached her ears.

"Wha- what was that for?"

But no answer came as Hiccup growled in the darkness and took out his two swords. How audacious to think that he was safe at Berk, he's dealing with Dark Elves here. Why did he even forget that?

"Sýndu Þig!" , (_"Show yourself!")_

"Ég er skuggarnir-" , _(__"I am the shadows-")_

"-Þú hefur enga hugmynd," , _(__"-you have no idea,")_ Hiccup's body suddenly vanished behind a cloud of smoke as steel to steel contact can be heard while Astrid armed herself with her axe. The sound of fighting came from the darkness when something or someone was visibly thrown out into the open. She could see the object of her affection materializing as he followed and easily jumped out from the window, running after them she was not prepared to see a Dark Elf for the first time in her life.

White sallow skin, dark haughty eyes, long pointed ears, and impossibly thin yet strong looking arms and extremities. It looked nimble and quick as it's eyes scanned her and him in two blinks of it's black eyes. It was armed with a sinister looking curved dagger, serrated and dripping with a copious amount of poison. It's left hand seemed to have a grafted hook and sickle, held tight with leather straps and inscribed with numerous letters, both foul and corrupted in her eyes. Covering the mouth, the cloth it wore also bore more glyph of an unknown language that brought indescribable feelings of unease and frayed emotions deep within her heart.

So it was true what he said about the Dark Eldar, they were something else.

"Segðu frá nafni þínu áður en ég drep þig launmorðingi." , _(__"State your name before I kill you assassin.")_

"Þú heldur í alvörunni að þú getir banað mér? Sá sem hefur lifað af þúsund herferðir? Mig, sem hefur skriðið út úr þessari vansæla stafla sem Ásgerðis vinir þínir hentu okkur frá!" The dark eyes turned to slits in mock amusement, _("You really think you can kill me? A survivor of a thousand campaigns? Me, who have crawled out of that miserable pile your Asgardian friends threw us from!")_

"Nafn mitt er Hiksti Stoickson af Ýsu ætt af Miðgarði, Fyrrum Hvít Hönd frá Ásgarði." ,_ (__"My name is Hiccup Stoickson of the Haddock Clan of Midgard, former White Hand of Asgard.")_

"Ah, Frægu Hvítu Hendurnar, með hverju úthelltu blóði þið þvoið hendur ykkar úr því-" , _(__"Ah, the famous White Hands, with every spilled blood you wash your hands with it-")_ the eyes noticeably grinned and it cocked its head in mockery, "- Og með áframheldum þvotti og úthellingu af blóði, hendur ykkar verða hvítar, og gerir það að þið eruð ónæmir sektinni að úthella blóði, hvorki sekur né saklaus fordæmir ykkur." , _(__"-and with continued washing and spilling of blood your hands turn white, rendering it immune to the guilt of spilling blood, neither guilty nor innocent condemns you.")_

"Am I right so far? Hiccup Stoickson, honorary member of the Kabal of the White Hands?"

The Dark Elf straightened to his full height and bowed gracefully, but neither did it take its eyes off of him, "Mitt nafn er Janus, Incubi af Járn þyrnum Kabal-" , _(__"My name is Janus, Incubi of the Iron Thorns Kabal-")_

"Ah, frá Nargothrond-" , _(__"Ah, from Nargothrond-")_ Astrid saw Hiccup grin dangerously and whispered something, "- eitt leikfanga Cythrax, má ég gera ráð fyrir?" , _(__"-a plaything of Cythrax I presume?")_

It had the necessary effect, the Dark Elf moved first and was upon him in a blink of an eye. The blonde girl couldn't believe it, if Hiccup was fast, then the enemy was as fast as him. The two combatants leveled each other's weapons against one another as their eyes met full of malice, the enemy's eyes was shooting daggers as it growled and spat its barely contained rage, "Ekki hæða Archon minn!" , _(__"Do not mock my Archon!")_

"So, that fugitive managed to come and infest my realm. I'll make sure that he hears your death cries."

Hiccup slashed downward with his right sword, but the enemy parried it with its small dagger. As he spun around, the Heir of Berk swiveled around and dodged the left arming with the weapon embedded in it that was aimed at his neck. Sparks flew from their contact points as both fighters did a well-coordinated dance of death.

Astrid can only look on helplessly, she was the best in their year and second only to Hiccup. But seeing someone fighting him toe to toe sends a chilling shiver down her spine, she could see they would not last a few minutes against the enemies he fought before, and he even fought an army of them underground. Helplessly she looked on, waiting against all hope that Hiccup takes down his would be attacker.

Janus was no ordinary Incubi, in Midgard status he was a high-ranking Captain and Champion knife fighter. He fought the Asgardian trained Hiccup with the skill and finesse inherent to all Elves. Granted, by shunning the light they also have shunned their benevolent images, their image now centers a more sinister and dangerous entity, willing to do whatever it takes to win and get whatever they want. And so he reared his left hand back in an arcing motion and sweeps it forward as Hiccup raises his left sword to parry and then delivers a powerful kick to his chest. The dark elf reeled back from the blow, truly he was trained by the White Hands and his traitorous kin from the accursed Kabal. But no matter, if he could kill this one, then the human resistance in this region would fall, and they would easily roll over their protectorate as if it was nothing.

Hiccup took a step back as he delivered a roundhouse kick after deflecting a swiping slash from the irregular weapon attached to the left arm of the dark elf.

"Truly, only my kin's training can give you that edge in battle- but this must end now."

Both Hiccup and Astrid took a step back as Janus peeled away his mouth covering revealing row upon row of chiseled teeth, they noticeably cringed as the assassin bit its left arm, then its right earning a surprised reaction from his enemy.

"I have saved this move for one who have shunned our darkness, a full-blooded member of the White Hands Kabal that have turned their eyes and reemerged in the light," Janus's muscles began to bulge unevenly and his bones could be heard cracking and snapping in two, mutating himself further from a normal Dark Elf, Astrid watched in horror as the face that was so smooth before turned a sickly gray and its eyes glowed red. The voice grew deep and demonic as a dark miasma of evil energy exuded from his already cracking skin.

"Astrid, I want you to run- and call everyone for aid."

"Why everyone? We can take him!" the shouts of fire and emergency around them went unnoticed as the people of Berk tried to snuff out the flame that's currently consuming the dragon arena.

"No, listen to me!" there was panic in his voice as Janus screamed in pain, "Do so quickly and be away from here- even I would have difficulty fighting a Dark Elf so consumed by darkness to be consider_ Kursed_. Go now!"

She paused and looked at the Dark Elf still writhing in pain, although still standing proudly, it was almost doubled over in pain, "Be careful!" she managed to call out as she headed for the Haddock Halls and call for his father.

Hiccup slowly turned to face Janus, but barely ducked himself when a dagger came flying towards him. With no time to lose he spun and tried to hide in the shadows, but a strong hand gripped him on the neck as he finally had a good look on his enemy. Gone were the black haughty eyes and sallow white skin, instead it held white glowing eyes, ashen gray skin and a dark miasma of an aura so foul you can actually smell sulfur from its emissions. He gasped in pain as the enemy, its mouth frothing and roaring at him wildly, slammed him into the ground. As the enemy followed through with its hooked left hand, he blindly swung _Agni_ towards his enemy and was rewarded with a pained roar.

Janus reeled back as he was caught in the right neck from Hiccup's frantic blow. Black blood spurted out as the crazed Dark Elf swung his right fist in a hay maker punch, luckily, Hiccup curled up and missed the heavy fist and instead it smack into the ground. Burying deep and momentarily incapacitating his enemy as it pulled its right arm free. A moment of respite as he rolled away as he did a battle stance with Agni at the front while Rudra, the much faster of the two as his deflection tool. With a roar the _Kursed _ran towards him, blind with rage and oblivious to pain, **"ÞÚ MUNT DEYJA!"** ,_ (**"YOU WILL DIE!")**_

The enemy reared its right hand and swung again towards him, but he was ready this time. Aiming carefully in between the the knuckles Agni exploded with flames as the fist contacted with the blade. Roaring in pain, Janus followed through and clipped Hiccup in the forehead. The Heir of Berk spun as he was thrown a good ten feet away from the hit, the hit made his world turn as he saw his enemy approaching him.

_"No choice- must frakkin' win!"_

Hiccup stabbed Agni into the ground exactly where his enemy is walking towards him, dismissing his move as nothing else the _Kursed _was finally upon him when he then stabbed Rudra right beside its twin. Before Janus could grab him and break him in two, an exploding line of fire extended from the red shortsword towards the dark elf, it consumed him to cinders as the crazed enemy writhed and roared in pain. Standing up and shaking himself to realign his senses, he parted his feet and stood his ground. He was lectured about the _Kursed_ by his master, they would not stop until the dark matter inside their bodies totally consume them. The dark miasma itself is their black blood boiling as the cursed spell coursed through their body, giving them enormous strength, but destroying their bodies from the inside and out.

Janus roared with rage, still aflame and his mind crazed beyond all reason, charged Hiccup again. The enemy raised its two arms to smash Hiccup to the ground, but he was waiting for it. Pivoting using his pegged leg, he spun around his enemy with his two swords pointed outwards. Flaying his enemy in circles, Hiccup slashed everything he could reach. However, his enemy felt no pain, it swung the scythe like left hand and clipped him in the right side of his torso.

"Oh Great Odin's outhouse! Perfect _frakkin'_ time not to wear my armor!" Hiccup hissed in pain as blood spurted out of his right side, "oh, that's gonna leave a mark."

His enemy smiled evily, the fire extinguished finally as he saw his quarry bleeding from a deep wound he made on the exposed side.

**"ÞÚ HEFUR EKKI BÆN MIÐGARÐLIGUR" ,_ (__"YOU DO NOT HAVE A PRAYER MIDGARDIAN.")_** Janus laughed in a deep voice as he walked towards him, his wounds seemed superficial as the cursed spell pushed his body beyond the limits of his physique.

As the enemy approached him, Hiccup's mind raced. He was winded from the blow on his head, the right side of his torso was bleeding like a small creek, and he's exhausted, flat-out exhausted. So, when Janus approached, grabbed him on his brown hair and lifted him up, he stood up as his enemy toyed with him, the left hand with the scythe raised, ready to swing at his yielding neck. The enemy suddenly yelped in pain as Hiccup lets Rudra drop from his right hand, directly underneath Janus's left foot. Stepping back in pain, he found he was unable to move with his left foot pinned to the ground. Exploiting the distraction, Hiccup wildly swung Agni upwards and caught the extended right arm of his enemy, severing it cleanly in two. Black blood spurted and stopped immediately as the burning blade cauterized the wound in its passing.

Spinning as he dropped down, Hiccup reversed the hold on Agni and poised himself giving his enemy a good view of his back. Janus grabbed him with his left sickle-like hand and he was immediately impaled by the Heir as he lifted the young man up to his body. Penetrating the left rib, just under the diaphragm and lodging itself on the spine, the _Kursed_ began to burn from the inside as Hiccup fought gamely against the tight hold of his enemy.

"Gods in Asgard! Why can't you just die!?"

Exclaiming in frustration and being weaponless, his weapons currently embedded in numerous parts of his enemy's body. He was about to loosen the death grip when he felt a sharp stab on his chest and another shadow appearing right in front of him. Coughing out blood he looked at this new enemy and his eyes widened at his enemy, this new one was blind yet it managed to hit him with a couple of flying darts.

A blind dark elf with the same body as his first enemy, formerly known as Janus hovered near him, one striking trait of this new one had a blindfold with numerous glyph and supplications to their dark twisted Gods.

It was a cruel fate. To win against an unwinnable enemy, only to be ambushed by someone else. And, judging from the four darts sticking up on his chest, he would wager that his own heart was also pierced. Damnation, it also seemed poison as he tasted a tang of something metal on his mouth. Wait, that was his blood, coming out of him as he coughed out. This is just great, he was about to prove his manhood a few minutes ago and now he's sprawled here, ambushed and beaten by these two cowardly elves. The blindfolded enemy circled and kneel right in front of Janus, the _Kursed_ looked mortally wounded as it collapsed right beside where Hiccup laid down, _Agni_ still dutifully burning him from the inside out.

**"NÁÐIRU HONUM?" , _(__"DID YOU GET HIM?")_**

"Já." , _(__"Yes.")_

**"ÞÁ ER FÓRN MÍN RÉTTLÆTANLEG" , _(__"THEN MY SACRIFICE IS JUSTIFIED.")_**

"Drottinn Malekith bíður sál þinnar í Svartálfheim." , _(__"Lord Malekith awaits your soul back in Svartalfheim.")_

**"ENDIRRIN-"** ,_ (__"THE END-")_ Janus coughed out blood as he gasped in breathing, suffering in his death throes the other Dark Eldar assassin waited right beside him as Hiccup writhed in agony, **"- réttlætir háttinn."** , _("-JUSTIFIES THE MEANS.")_

Was this the end? What his Master say to him?

Wait, what would his Master say?

Hiccup closed his eyes and immediately an image of Loki invaded his mind, a look of absolute loathing and dismissive attitude gripped him as his Master turned from him and said, _"Mediocre... pitifully mediocre."_

His eyes flew open in a rage, the blindfolded enemy was surprised at his quick movement. Hiccup was stabbed and poisoned with a brew so potent it would bring you pain with every movement, yet the Midgardian managed to jump up and was upon him in an instant. Engaging his two hidden blades, Hiccup stabbed the last enemy cleanly in the chest where his heart would be. Gasping in pain and surprise the assassin crumpled like paper and dropped down next to his dead kin Janus.

"Impossible!" the blind one screamed in rage, the wound on his chest throbbing as his consciousness suddenly felt fleeting, "I have poisoned you with my most potent affliction! How could you even move?"

Hiccup gasped as the exertion drained the last of his strength, he lost so much blood, was poisoned by a potent poisoner, and managed to kill two Dark Elf Incubi in a matter of minutes. Yet even he could not shake the death shroud enveloping his senses, the enemy grinned and laughed loudly at the heavens

"I may precede you in the afterlife, but it brings me great pleasure to know that you and your kin would suffer from your passing."

The young man grits his teeth, as true to the words of his enemy, every movement a burning agony in his muscles and pain in his joints. Heaving shallow breaths and fighting gamely against the loss of consciousness he can't avoid to listen as the dark elf tortured him with the last of his strength.

"You will last for five days at least, and during that time you will experience pain, absolute pain beyond your reckoning," sounds of feet marching reached his ears as his enemy coughed out blood, "I, Kane, Incubi of the Iron Thorns Kabal relish in your... pain and suffering."

"HICCUP!"

Oh gods no, let not her see him like this.

All he could see was her face as she grabbed him from the ground and cupped his face into her, he could hear his father, and was that Snotlout? Never matter, all that matters is this weeping young woman in front of him. By the Gods she looked beautiful, he smiled as he gritted and pain.

"-strid."

"Every one hush your mouths!" Stoick's voice boomed over the din of confused and panicked voices, a vanguard of veteran Viking Berkians formed a circular wall with Stoick, Snotlout and Astrid in the middle, "What did he say?"

"Astrid-" his voice barely a whisper as he poured the last ounce of his strength into his words, "-you must break the crystal."

"Crystal?" the young blonde woman's eyes were brimming with tears, she could not believe it, he seemed invulnerable against all adversaries, yet the Dark Elves showed her otherwise. Now Hiccup lay dying in her arms as she wept and tried to make sense of his words, "What crystal?"

Slowly, ever so slowly he pulled a necklace hidden by his blood soaked tunic, it held only two crystals. One yellow and one white, Hiccup held up the yellow one and breathed deeply to brace himself, "Break this-" he gasped, "-to summon help."

His father couldn't wait anymore, Stoick stepped through and grabbed the offered crystal. He puts it into a piece of stone and raised his war mace high above his head. With all his strength he brought down the blunt weapon smashing the crystal in a thousand pieces, instantly as the crystal was pulverized a bright golden light seemed to pulse all around them as it grew and grew in intensity. A thrumming sound reached their ears as a single floating orb suddenly shot out a pillar of light into the sky, the orb sent pulses of light upwards into the sky as it also enveloped Hiccup as he lay in Astrid's arms bleeding and coughing black blood.

Kane, with his last breathe looked up into the pillar of light as if he could see it behind his blindfold and finally said.

"Your world will burn Midgardians, you ignorant wretches. Half-evolved chimps that have no idea whom you must serve."

"My master serves only the one, and when he reaches his full might, he will unleash murder and destruction on all the Nine Realms. It had begun at Alfheim, those pansy cousin of ours who could not accept the truth, the truth that you must embrace evil to be truly complete. For none can have light without darkness, and good will not exist without evil."

"That is the truth-" Kane's voice was cut off as Stoick stepped on his neck with his heavy boot and easily broke his larynx.

"Shut your mouth, filthy piece of savage."

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**The Realm Eternal: Asgard**

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00912830... BIFROST WATCH PROGRAM INITIATED...011101110

... Primary watcher: Heimdall Odinson C4/: ...

... Secondary watcher: Odin Allfather C?/: ...

... Alert notification: all concerned / 98113-4 / signal captured ...

... Alert signal origination name: _3H WHK F-01_ / confirmed active /...

...

...

... /_Communication protocol commencing code 22-0141/_...

C4/: Priority Alarm detected... triangulating location.

C4/: Svartalfheim invasion force detected.

C4/: Invasion Target: Midgard

C4/: Reports of unsanctioned portals and webways from _3H WHK F-01_.

C4/: Designation of Target: Artifact World, and prime Frontier World.

C4/: Strategic Value: ABSOLUTE!

...

..._processing commands... cannot denote all values/012139 priority order..._

_C:3...standby... (ready)_

_C:2...standby... (steady)_

_C:1...standby... (forward to ODIN)_

..._process forwarded... information acquired, parameters debatable/012139-8 receiving VOX..._

_..._

_..._

_..._

_...__VOX established C4/: connection to the Gold Tower established (C?: status is active)..._

C?: Dark Elf invasion in progress, your recommended course of action?

C4: _Planetary Extermination?_

C?: Negative, Strategic Value: Absolute!

C4: _Deploy Capital Weaponry? Gungnir? Mjolnir?_

C?: Negative, estimated Midgardian casualties as collateral damage unacceptable.

C4: _Golden Army deployment?_

C?: Agreed, minor elements deployed by Bifrost in 2 days. Estimated mustering time 2-56 Midgardian days.

C?: Delay unacceptable!

C?: Increased delay results to loss of strategic value and decrease of assets on Midgard unacceptable. Strategic Value: ABSOLUTE!"

...

...standby...

...

C4: _Escalate Area Denial?_

C?: Agreed.

C?: Execute Request Order; Warrior's Three deployment approved.

C?: Response time in coordination to mustering and deployment to BIFROST?

.._. calculating inputs..._

_... standby ..._

_... figures forwarded to C4/:..._

C4: Time to deployment: Immediately.

C?: Approved. Deploy the Warrior's Three.

C?: Primary directive: Secure Prime Asset _'Midgardian Key.'_

C?: Secondary directive: Deny enemy valuable assets and intelligence.

...

._.. Order processed and sent ..._

_... C4: has logged out._

_... C?: has logged out._

_... ERROR ..._

_... receiving message backlash ..._

_..._

C3:...standby... (Ready)

C2:...standby... (STEADY)

C1:...standby... (ERROR!)

...

... BIFROST RECOVERED FROM SERIOUS ERROR? ...

("ERROR!) (ERROR!) BIFROST COMMAND Executable CANCEL? (ERROR!) (ERROR!")

... BIFROST COMMAND EXECUTABLE PROCEED...ok./ SIGMA clearance approved ...

...

C?2:... BIFROST standing by for additional orders...

/...directive?.../

C?2: B!fR0$+ command hex01125A: SIGMA Command tolerated.

C?2: Override previous command._ White Hands Kabal_ primary operative.

C?2: Primary directive proceed.

C?2: Secondary directive proceed.

C?2: Third directive: preserve asset ID; _3H WHK F-01._

._.. Order processed and sent ..._

_... Order confirmed and executable; SIGMA clearance approved ..._

_... executing order ..._

_... C?2: logging out ..._

_... Loki Odinson has logged out..._

.

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**To be continued...**

**Author's note:**

9.5K WORDS!? GOTT En HIMMEL!

Though I regret to inform everybody about a brief hiatus... personal reasons and everything. It's not for a lack of inspiration, I just need to finish a lot of things right now.

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Forgive me everyone,

Scarabeye3000

PS: Will update probably in the next month. Hopefully XD


	23. Chapter 23

**Big thank you to SMr. Freeze for the excellent Nordic translations... and Viking Stranger for the dragon leather idea. :D**

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Shout out to my signed reviews! You know who you are: **SMr. Freeze, The Viking Stranger, Crazywizard73, SharKohen, dracologistmaster**

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**Disclaimer: Any characters mentioned are all under copyright. This work is purely fan-made.**

**Title: From Asgard to Midgard**

**Author: Scarabeye3000**

**Chapter 23: **_**'Settle down.**_**_'_**

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Berk

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Astrid held Hiccup in her arms as the glowing light finally faded into the darkness of the night, Stoick grimly looked up into the heavens for any sign. Growing weary he walked over to his son as a another coughing fit wracked his body. A large wound on his right side, some bruising, and it looked like a fractured skull since he's bleeding on the head. All in all, pretty bad shape. The Chief shook his head, his son had been fighting them for a year and its amazing that he managed to survive that long, given their enemy's penchant for tenacity and cruelty. It made him see his son into another light, such a strong young man his son truly was, both in strength, heart and mind. He sighed deeply, and turned to Bjorn Hofferson.

"Get the healers, sweep the village for unknown persons, and clap the twins in irons."

"Wait... father," Hiccup's hoarse voice called out as all turned to him, "Spare the twins- without their antics I would have been murdered in my sleep- don't clap them in irons, make them do something else."

"But it's exactly why they needed to be punished."

"I know father, but I'm grateful to them-" he stopped as another coughing fit seized him, "-I owe it to them at least."

Stoick shook his head and caved in, "Very well son-" he turned back to Bjorn, "You heard him, do the rest."

"Yes Chief."

The Chief then turned to Astrid and puts a hand on her shoulder, "We should get him inside lass."

She nodded, her eyes crying unashamedly in front of everyone as Hiccup lay wounded in her arms. His father ordered a stretcher and someone left to get one, wiping dripping blood from his nose she bit her lip and cried some more. A hand on her cheek made her look at him as she saw his green eyes locked into her, "Don't cry," he whispered.

"Shut up and save you're strength."

He coughed and asked, "Did- did you wear you're skirt again?"

"Of course, we were fighting right?" she asked miffed at his question, "Why?"

"Because it's pricking my back."

Astrid stopped and her mouth hung open, "You- you are insufferable you know that! Reckless and- and Gods up above why be the hero!?"

"It's because I love you Astrid, and I don't want you to be the one wounded right here," he replied a small smile on his lips, "M- maybe next time you can get wounded, just not now."

"Would you please just rest and stop- stop trying to be funny Hic-"

Gothi came to them as fast as she could, her small body carried by the numerous Terrible Terrors she feeds using safety straps attached to her body. Landing near Hiccup she immediately went to work at his body, washing the wound on the right of his body with a red liquid it stung like small needlework being done on his sides. The angry wound on his chest from the poisoned arrows were not spewing blood, on the contrary the skin around the wound seem dead as veins already began popping near the wound. A black pit on every wound hid the terrible disease they carry on each missile.

Stoick looked on as the healer began to work on his body when a scream from nearby made all their heads turn.

A Viking woman was pointing to the sky as Stoick's heart took a leap, there was something coming down from the sky.

"LOOK UP AT THE HEAVENS!"

From above, a bright rainbow colored light came crashing down in the middle of Berk, Vikings scrambled away as a surge of power, wind and energy sweep around them. The pillar of light spun and agitated a dust cloud as all the Vikings looked on at the spectacle, Astrid shielded Hiccup from the flying dusts as Stoick stood up and held his warhammer in a tight grip. The mass of energy roiled continuously until finally it stopped and started to wane, as the brightness faded, every Viking standing nearby saw eight men forming a circle around the blackened ground as the same symbol Stoick saw years ago came back into his mind.

As one the eight strangers walked out of the holy symbol and headed straight for Hiccup, the Berkians parted ways as no one dared to make a sound. The Chief stood in their way as the obvious leader walked up to him and bowed respectfully.

"Hail Chieftain," it was a cold voice that sent shivers down the spine of those nearest, but Stoick was made immune by his strong character, "I am Kaldr, Archon of the White Hands Kabal- we were sent here to aid our young friend."

The Chief puts his right hand forward and offered it, "You are welcome," the elf took and shook it strong.

Everyone looked on at the newly arrived, they wore black armor with green and white mixed in. Long hair, some black, some white, others a fine silver, while others look a complete mix of the rest. They were unlike the Dark Elves that Hiccup managed to slay. No, they were something else and it unease all those that beheld them, all carry the mark of a white hand on their full regalia.

Kaldr looked around and saw a young blonde woman, with disheveled hair and ocean blue eyes. She was holding tightly a bundle of human in her arms and she flinched as the Master made a beeline towards her. Kneeling down in front of her he gave her a knowing nod and looked at the young man lying down on her lap.

"You're in bad shape."

"Forgive me master Kaldr," Hiccup whispered, "I was surprised by a _Kursed,_ usually we take them as a team."

"Don't downplay it too much, you fought well for someone being alone," he gestured his hand and one of the White Hands stepped up, "Portio, prepare a cure-"

The man called Portio took one look at the wounded young man and shook his head, "They used an old recipe, it'll be very painful getting out of his system."

"We have no choice, make it so."

Vikings of all ages including Stoick watched in earnest as Portio made the concoction right there, Gothi arrived in the middle of it and tried to stop the administering of the drugs, but the Chief stopped her as the White Hand tipped the contents of the potion into a waiting Hiccup. As the first of the potion trickled down his throat, a burning sensation gripped him and he convulsed immediately in Astrid's arms. Panicking she tried to sooth him, but the White Hand members were faster, two immediately grabbed him from her and lifted him above their heads, the others then laid him on their shoulders as Master Kaldr stepped in front of Stoick.

"Where can we bring him so he can recover?"

The Chief was surprised, the people were clamoring all over as chaos still ensued, "My halls- My halls, take him there- Astrid! Escort them!"

Astrid quickly led them away from the shouting people as the confusion and excitement was handled by Stoick.

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With the excitement dying down Master Kaldr and a few members of the White Hands coven sat down in front of the earthen hearth in the middle of the Haddock Halls. Astrid, Toothless and Valka stayed up inside Hiccup's room as his thrashing intensified, the black poison in his blood slowly being sweated out by the force of the medicine. His screams of pain echoed in the house as Stoick served each and everyone some mead.

"We do not have much, but we have mead."

Master Kaldr took the offered beverage and bowed in respect, the fatigue evident in his eyes, "I am grateful noble Chieftain... it pains me to see one of our number in obvious pain. But it gives me great relief too that he still feels pain."

"How so?" Stoick was a bit taken aback, is this the persons his son called comrade for so many years.

The dark elven captain smiled, "It means he is still among us- we were not too late and his soul has not gone too far off into the abyss."

"Tell me," the Chieftain softly said, "Were _all_ his stories true?"

Silence as the brooding members held their tongue, "You wish to know if the visions you have seen at the memory stone are real? Do they constitute the horror and suffering he had endured?"

"It is true then?"

"Yes."

A White Hand member with a large sword drained almost half his mead and sighed, it was Rafiq, "He was more than affected, yet he bravely endured all hardships for Asgard."

"Tell me, you are all Dark Elves right?"

Nods and murmurs of agreement went around, "Then why do you serve Asgard? Why do you fight for justice? Do you also wield the powers our enemy have shown us just now?"

The master of the coven sighed and said, "When our kin turned to darkness, we were consumed by a power so destructive it controlled the lesser of us. Twisted the minds and hearts of those who wielded it- you have seen its power, the _Kursed_ that you have faced is but a mere child compared to the mature ones. Those that have ascended the pain of destruction only looks forward to the next battle, it is this self-destructive force and debauchery we have forsaken."

"We were outcasts, we belong neither to our old realm nor any realm- however, in our constant wanderings Lord Loki found us."

"Loki?" Stoick shivered at the name, "Why him?"

"We do not know, but he granted us sanctuary- kept us under his protection, granted that we do his bidding in upholding _'justice'_ in the eyes of the Allfather."

"Lord Odin?"

"Yes Chief Stoick, we were as you can call it- bona fide _'specialist'_, a shadow force that is commanded by Asgard through Lord Loki."

"And we have done every single task that is given," Rafiq drained his tankard and took another round from a barrel, "It is his good graces that allowed our children to live peacefully in Asgard-"

"You all have children?" Stoick was stunned.

Master Kaldr, now smiling in delight gestured with his two fingers, "I have 2- twins to be more precise."

"Triplets for me-"

"-quite a handful, but try seven."

"Seven?" Portio exclaimed, "I thought it was only six."

"My wife is pregnant," a dark elf with a three pronged spear smiled, "-she was about to give birth when we were called on this assignment."

"More reasons for a drink!" Rafiq shouted as he found the barrel of mead.

The Chief of Berk couldn't believe his eyes, these were the men that his son fought with, they were obvious veterans of numerous battles and bare witness to all manner of horror that he could only imagine. Just what did Hiccup do with them to warrant such a response from Asgard?

"What did my son do for him to warrant such attention from Asgard?"

Everyone went silent as all the assassins turned to Kaldr, the master of the coven nodded and said, "He sacrificed more than a leg for the son of the King."

Stoick frowned, "What do you mean?"

"I am sure you are familiar with the Alfheim Campaign, and numerous other battles that soon followed," Hiccup's father nodded and confirmed his knowledge, "When we managed to push back our dark kin, just before the battle at the last stronghold we were fighting in one of the caverns that acted as a main central hub for passages around for Nargothrond. It is there that Hiccup lost his leg in fighting, we were surprised that _Glaurung_ was set upon us."

"_Glaurung?_ Am I right to assume it is a serpent?" Hiccup's father asked, "How is he different?"

"The serpent named _'Glaurung' _is one of the greatest of the named serpents, he commands legions of his kin into battle," Kaldr paused and sighed, "We were surprised at the least, with the amount of drakes he managed to call forth from the darkness- you must understand, he could barely fit inside the cavern and his body blocked the only passageway to the last enemy stronghold. We could go no further unless we slay him, which took almost a week of relentless assault and countless casualties that they ate."

"Pretty gruesome."

"After the first week, even Lord Thor began to doubt the idea of fighting _Glaurung _underground-"

"-but Hiccup pitched in an idea," Rafiq smiled as he reminisced, "Lord Loki almost smiled as everyone agreed with his plan."

Stoick couldn't help but ask, "What was that plan?"

"He and Toothless would fly around the cavern considering its size, attacking while staying just out of reach of the great wyrm, they would force him out of his trench by attacking and pulling back, making the enemy madder and madder until finally _Glaurung _pursued them personally."

"They lured him outside breaking the foothold the enemy has on the caverns, outside Lord Loki and Lord Thor waits to slay the beast."

Kaldr shook his head and showed Stoick a memory stone with a dragon roaring up into the heavens, "We took the caverns and laid siege to the inner stronghold, we were woefully unaware of the carnage _Glaurung_ unleashed outside."

Glaurung was the father of all drakes, as the skill of the dwarves in inanimate objects, so too our skill in all things alive. But the dark elves twisted something good into something of their make. A dragon body twice as large as the Red Death that breathe fire, spoke in all tongue and is resistant to all purifying magic. Black scales and red glowing eyes, it stood almost as high as the mountain and spoke in a loud booming voice. Every swish of its tail broke mountainsides and every breath of fire is a storm nigh unstoppable by any magic conjured. Lord Thor engaged the foul beast while Lord Loki threw every destructive spell he could conjure to no avail, the beast's dragon hide was much too hard and vast for Mjolnir to break, it was not doing enough damage, while the spells Lord Loki threw at him merely bounced off of his ancient protections.

"How did you slay them then?"

"Lord Odin loaned_ Gungnir _to one of his sons and they were able to slay the Ancient beast."

Stoick was stunned, "Such an honor for Lord Thor to avail such a weapon-"

"-you are mistaken Chieftain," Rafiq mused, "It is Lord Loki, not Thor who was able to avail of the weapon's true potential. Nobody knows for sure how _Gungnir_ responded to the call of our magnanimous Lord, even Lord Odin was surprised. Nevertheless, when Lord Loki threw the spear to the enemy, a catastrophic explosion opened a gaping hole inside the armor of the Ancient and Thor was able to finally slay the monster simply by dropping his warhammer into its throat."

"Dropping _Mjolnir _into his throat? How was it possible to kill something by dropping a hammer?"

"Only two Asgardians could have lifted _Mjolnir_ and no one else, _Glaurung _simply choked on the weapon and couldn't breathe properly. He died in anguish after five minutes."

Stoick frowned still mystified, "So- so how did my son lost his leg?"

"In his death throes, the great dragon couldn't even move nor writhe in agony because _Mjolnir _kept it immobile." Kaldr shook his head and sighed, "But as soon as Lord Thor called his weapon to him, the locked muscles of the great beast stretched and in a twisted turn of fate the large jaws aimed for the two Asgardian Princes."

"Your son watched it all happen, he was the nearest and was able to shove the two monarchs away- he was also able to flung himself away into safety, but it was not enough. A wayward teeth caught him in the leg and was instantly crushed, we stabilized the poison and its damage it done to his body, but-"

Rafiq smiled bitterly, he took a drink from his mead as if toasting his screaming comrade upstairs in the second floor, "-but the wounds of an Ancient Being such as _Glaurung_ is permanent."

Even the advanced healing techniques in the Eternal Realm was not enough to restore him in body, he was broken already, yet his spirit did not waver. He only sighed in acceptance of his new fate and trudged on with his life among us. It showed how strong in mind and spirit Hiccup truly was.

"The two Lords were extremely grateful to him, especially Lord Thor-" Kaldr gave a small laugh as he reminisced a memory, "-it actually warmed him to the idea that perhaps Hiccup belonged to his Lodge, a convergence of warriors with powerful hearts and strong will."

"Of course, Lord Loki would not let him go anywhere else, so he was retrained to move with the prosthetic on him."

Rafiq finally tilted the barrel and drank the last of the mead, "It took some time, and his skill has probably lessened- I mean, he could climb a sheer rock cliff and ran on a building's wall with just his instincts. I guess now he thinks tactical first and then attacks any obstacle smartly-"

"Agree, he used to boost himself using the inner heel of his feet, but now I think he just lodges a strip of metal on the training course high wall and uses it to reach the highest part."

"You should be proud of your son," Portio also finished his mead and smiled, "All of us are proud to have fought with him. He is, as you say it, a younger brother in our eyes."

Stoick also smiled, happy that he knew that his son found good company within Asgard. They are probably not the most righteous, or most virtuous of them all, but they taught him how to fight. They gave him the essential tools and skills necessary for his survival, and for that he lived, although writhing and screaming in agony he clung to life and was still fighting for it. For now all he can do is call out to the Gods and ask for hope and strength.

"We best take some rest now, the cure will continue to burn through the poison and the process would pain him greatly, but he will live I assure you," Portio said as he smiled reassuringly, "Just before daybreak or possibly as the sun rises he would quiet himself, the treatment would burn all the poison in every nerve of his body- the remains would be forcefully expelled out, sometimes even out of his pores."

The Chief of Berk nodded, "Again, I give you my thanks- please take the hall that we usually prepare for our guests."

Hiccup's screams of pain continued throughout the night, Toothless retreated to the roof of the house as he stared out into the distance. He would stand guard over all the denizens of the house until the cold winds made his dragon skin wet from the night dew.

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The first rays of the sun were beginning to peek over the horizon when Hiccup's pain finally abated. The cure finally coursed through every vein in his body purging every remaining drop of the debilitating poison out of his system. Screaming and writhing ended an hour earlier as the constant throbbing of his chest and the dryness in his throat abated. Even Valka who stayed at his side finally went back to their own room to let Astrid take care of her son.

The young girl, her once braided blonde hair now disheveled sat on a wooden stool as her head rested on the soft bed where Hiccup evenly breathed in his sleep. The large wound on his side was finally sewn up, cleaned and disinfected by the expert poisoner and doctor of the White Hands named Portio. Bruising and angry welts on his body also began to show as the numerous blows he obtained from the _Kursed_ colored and started the healing process. His breathing also improved with the pain of the poison being purged out of his body. Astrid rested as she waits for any indication of movement by Hiccup as sleep finally gripped him.

It was pure hell during the first hour of administering the cure, he was screaming and writhing in pain. They could see that the poison was debilitating him, affecting his motor skills, including his mind and perception. He would be sane one moment and then delirious at the next, when the poison was being purged on his eyes he tried to gouge them out. With her quick thinking, she, Valka and Gothi tied him to the bed post and tended to his every need. Sometimes black poison would gush out on one of his numerous wounds, they would be prepared to soak it up with a clean cloth and careful to store it away for destruction later by Dragon Fire. Unlike now, a few hours before he was speaking incoherently about visions, reliving a past battlefield in his mind, and screaming and crying, at times calling out in Old Norse.

Pitiful would be an understatement as anyone who cared, take one long look at him.

But she remained strong and stayed by his side, if she would accept his offer formally, then this little thing of tending to him as he lay on his deathbed should be easy work. However, it churned her mind, made her think she was unworthy of him, she couldn't even do anything against their _one_ enemy. She couldn't help him because she was weak, she was unable to do anything because her skill is not up to par with him. There was nothing she could have done other wise, she wouldn't last a minute against such overwhelming power and evil, and yet he fought them like he used to do it every single day.

What a fool they were to think that trinkets and tools could help them survive this mess they've gotten themselves into.

The creak of the door made her slightly open her eyes, she pushed herself from the bed and looked at the large frame of Stoick blocking the door. His face held no emotion yet his eyes overflowed with worry, at the least, he seemed to have grown older these past few hours. Stepping inside the room he walked over to the bed and asked.

"How is he?"

"He's quiet now, Valka also took a moment of respite and returned to your room."

"I know, she's sleeping now- she cried after seeing him like this, but I forced her to sleep so she can come back later."

She nodded knowing why the Chief is here, "Get some sleep lass."

"I'm not leaving him."

Astrid looked up at him and he almost flinched, her eyes were tired, sad and terribly bloodshot. She was crying he knew just from the puffiness of her eyes, but she dared not show it to Hiccup. It was the blank stare he was receiving that clinched it.

Stoick sighed, oh boy, "Astrid, you barely ate dinner- you were at his side when the attack happened, you are tired and out of focus. You're useless trying to stay vainly by his side."

"I can manage Chief."

"I know you can, and I know you will-" the Chief stood to his full height and tried to glare _'gently' _down at her, "-but as your Chief, you are hereby directed to rest. For as long as your body requires it, after you recover I will need you again at his side. Is that understood Astrid?"

"But-" she began to protest, but the Chief cuts her off forcefully, "NO! Listen to me child, you never have left his side since the attempt and that was a few hours ago. You need time away from him and gather your thoughts- rest your body and come back here quickly, go now Astrid and don't make me force you out."

She reluctantly stood up and bit her lip, but her Chief has spoken and she could not disobey. He's right though, as a fighter she could not even lift her axe now, a few straight hours of tending to his writhing and shaking, attending to his bedside was exhausting to her and she could not deny the obvious want of her eyes to close together. So accepting defeat she began to walk towards the door, but stopped, running back to his bed she puts her lips on his cold forehead and kissed it tenderly.

"I'll be back Hic-" she whispered then headed for the door, giving Stoick a nod of thanks as she passed him.

"-and I'll be waiting right here," a hoarse voice made her stop as both Vikings looked at Hiccup giving a small smile with his eyes closed.

She can only smile, "So cheeky," and walked quickly outside of his room.

Hearing her close the door on the first floor, Chief Stoick shook his head and sat himself at one of the bedside chairs his son made, the same one she was sitting upon a while ago. A small stool no bigger than his leg yet it carried his weight with strength and stability, with his son on his bed, all wounded and bandaged he couldn't help but think about if ever he did a much better job of taking good care of him.

If he only listened better to his son, at least know what made him tic or what sets him off. What makes him sad? What makes him happy? Damnation, their enemy surprised them this time didn't they? Stoick seemed to asked the four bedpost on Hiccup's bed when something heavy fell down from the roof, then into his son's room. It was the Night Fury, and like Astrid it also stood guard above the house. A silent sentry in case another emergency comes, and also waiting for his best friend to talk sarcastic nothings again.

The black dragon approached and aimed his muzzle at the Chief of Berk. His large hand barely covered the large scaly head as he received a deep rumbling purr from the dragon as he scratched and gave him affection. Seriously, he could barely remember the time he was last mad at a dragon, I mean he couldn't actually be really mad at them. In a short understanding, dragons are like dogs and cats, although scaly, has fangs, horns and wings.

His son made it all happen, and look where he is right now.

Lying and broken, almost assassinated and suffering. Stoick shook his head and sighed, if his former comrades didn't come then they would have surely lost him. An troubled calm descended on him as he finally lulled himself to take brief nap before sunrise.

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Meanwhile on the Guest Hall

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Kaldr and the rest of the White Hands began to bed down on the bunk beds that were given to them, the earthen hearth in the middle was burning with fire and it kept the inside temperature warm and cozy. After the shared drinks on the Halls of the Chiefs, the members of his coven only had a few hours to settle down, take some rest, and began their mission. Three directives were given and a three pronged approach was necessary, the master of the coven sat near the burning fire pit and one by one the assassins joined him in a circle.

"We are all settled down for a few hours of sleep Master Kaldr," Rafiq said as he took his seat, his large sword never far from his reach.

"Good, now as you all know we have three directives that were given to us by order of Lord Odin himself."

"What the hell is that _'Key'_ for anyways?"

"We do not know, but it is clear what we must do- Rafiq and Portio, remain here for the time being, mingle with the natives-"

"-natives? Kind of racist..." Portio whispered.

Rafiq frowned and scoffed, "Shut up-"

"-teach them how to fight, how to subdue enemies the way we do, at least teach them how to fight with our _'little brother'_."

The burly Rafiq sighed and shook his head, clapping the one nearest him, both nodded in agreement, "Your wish is our command Master Kaldr."

Kaldr bowed and smiled, "Now then, Varhey, Skiwel- both of you would follow all leads about the supposed _'Key' _that we were supposed to find and secure. Is that understood?"

"Yes sir!" Varhey nodded, the one with the seven children smiled, "I guess seeing my youngest will take some time."

"Everyone is eager to go home Varhey."

"Agreed."

"Rael, Givrola, Mathuran and me would go after the enemy's intelligence ring- assassination of their spies, and general disruption of their vital supply lines," Kaldr sighed and takes out a flat memory stone, "What Lord Heimdall gave us is the rough information, mainly from his own observations of this small patch of the universe, we would hit them all out and cripple them as quick as we can manage."

"Just the four of us Master?" Givrola asked, he was wearing a half mask and a bandanna covered his forehead. A glittering dagger can be seen in the middle of his chest dangling from a leather strap, "Should we at least have more of our numbers with us?"

"This mission is covert, not even operatives lower than us know we are here- I don't think even Lord Thor was informed, only Lord Odin and Heimdall knows, the order came from their directives- in any case, Portio and Rafiq can join us as long as Hiccup has fully recovered and both of them must make sure that he can keep up with the pace of our operation."

"His recovery if there will be no distraction is at least a week."

"Depends if he's indulging in carnal pleasure already-"

"-what? What are you saying!?" Rafiq frowned.

Portio shrugged his shoulders, "I'm just saying it as his healer, I mean just look at his woman-"

"You mean Astrid?"

"Yes! I mean he was screaming his name non-stop, and before remember in the training pit? She was the reason why he survived our training considering he's a Midgardian."

Master Kaldr gave a small laugh and shook his head, "That's enough, everyone bed down for the night- you have two hours then we push on."

The White Hands dispersed as one and went to each of their beds. A few hours of sleep and the Berkians would only see Rafiq and Portio for the duration of Hiccup's recovery.

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Asgard

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A dark cloud roiled over the Golden City as the fury of Odin washed down from the main citadel. Heimdall looked over the edge of the _Bifrost_ bridge and centered his perception down at Midgard. The directives he discussed and orders they approved were mysteriously intercepted, it was corrupted and it was designed to pass through another set of verification algorithms. Why would anyone intercept it and purposely change the directives of the mission is beyond him for now, but to think that someone is actually able to come between the messaging services between him and the Allfather. It is a matter that greatly disturbed him.

What's also peculiar in his eyes is why were the Warrior's Three was replaced with the White Hands?

The Warrior's Three were the primary intervention force of Asgard, in troubled times and initial armed conflict, usually the three of them would be enough to subjugate a disturbed realm. However, to attain the necessary clearance to deploy the White Hands, seemed very unlikely for just a run of the mill Asgardian. Few people can command the shadow force of Asgard and that does not include his name. There was only Odin, King of Asgard, Lord Thor, Champion and protector of Midgard to a certain extent, and of course their patron, Loki the-

Heimdall suddenly looked up and extended his gaze far and wide, his obsidian eyes brightened with cosmic energies running through them, reading them, feeling every strand of the billions that thread within the reach of _Yggdrasil._ His heart raced as he reached all realms except for Asgard, if his hunch is correct it is either he is here or not, but in a few second his worst fear has come to fruition. He raced up to a raised dais in the middle of his observatory and stabbed his large sword in the middle of the dais. Golden light trailed down from the hilt to the dais while it trickled down from the dais and spreads around the golden room. From outside a lone raven flew in from the large vaulted gateway as it perched on the giant's quaking shoulder.

The raven opened its beak and the booming voice of the Allfather came out, **"What is Heimdall?"**

His black eyes now losing its cosmic light, Heimdall turned to the raven and said, "I have gazed upon the far reaches of _Yggdrasil _and have found something disturbing."

**"My eyes is curiously blind, but my heart tells me what you are about to say is dire- now, say your report and prove me wrong."**

"I apologize my King if my call troubled you, but-" Heimdall's gaze returned in looking out to space and said, "-someone is gone from my sight. Loki, my lord is missing and I could not find him among the Nine Realms."

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**To be continued...**

**Author's note:**

Alright, some really overdue updates for you people.

Hawmygawd! I'm also doing more One Piece and Ghost Sweeper fanfiction since I wanted a little break from HTTYD from the lack of motivation.

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Cheers,

Scarabeye3000


	24. Chapter 24

Reviews as of July 19, 2015

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(Guest #1): First of all, I used these names and locations as a big fan of Sir Tolkien's extended work, not just _LOTR, the HOBBIT, the SILMARILLION, the Children of Hurin, the Unfinished Tales of Middle-Earth etc_. If you think I stole them then you are free to say so, but I think you are a big _ASSHOLE(yes, I italicized it)_. Keep trying to hide behind a Guest Review so that you can say that I stole NAMES? How the FUCK do you even steal names, it is not mine idiot! Second, you're either a big troll that wants some undivided attention from me, well now you got it you piece of SHIT! Why don't you log-in and exchange words with me and see for yourself what else I stole from Sir Tolkien. Funny, you only noticed those two names _**(Glaurung, Nargothrond, Haldir, Kaldr)**_ because you're an ignorant git that probably doesn't even think about what you do or say. You fucking moron, _I DO THIS FOR FREE_, you're not entitled to tell me I stole some SHIT because I'm not getting paid for this SHIT. I don't care if you don't read it anymore, and I'm praying I don't see your _RUDE ASS (yes, I fucking italicized it again)_ comment about writers stealing other's works, but I want you to know that I got a go-ahead from the site's ADMINS if, and only IF I use it in FANFICTION and I DON'T GET PAID FOR IT. So, it means you ignorant arse-wiper, that I can WRITE and _DO WHATEVER THE HELL I WANT WITH GLAURUNG OR WHATEVER ELSE YOU 'MIGHT FREAKING NOTICE'_.

Go back to your cave or swamp home and be the troll you are.

**_ISHKAQWI AI DURUGNUL YOU BLOODY GIT!_**

FLAMERS WILL GET FUCKIN' BURNED!

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Guests #2: Thanks mate, you brighten my day... hope that I can update as fast as you hope I could now that I found a sure way to freshen my mind when I write. And that is to write some other fanfic . (^_^)

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Guests #3: The moment I decided to rewrite my other fics, the update was doomed. (T_T) *sigh...

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**Shout out to, SMr. Freeze****, SharKohen, The Viking Stranger, snoopykid, Ken106348, Crazywizard73, UnbreakableWarrior, Sonochu, TheShadoWWorrior, **for their signed reviews.

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**Disclaimer: Any characters mentioned are all under copyright. This work is purely fan-made.**

**Title: From Asgard to Midgard**

**Author: Scarabeye 3000**

**Chapter 24: _'Thy Master comes.'_**

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Berk

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Astrid rubbed her eyes as the hard rays of the midday sun peeked on her window sill, wearily she got up and stretched her tired body. She was surprisingly refreshed and was grateful to Stoick for making her sleep, now she can look forward to taking care of Hiccup and his wounds. Carefully, she combed her hair until she managed to untangle each and every strand, pouring some water into her bedside basin she began washing her face, rinsing off the excess oil, grime, and tears that formed on her eyes. Facing a full length mirror that Hiccup made for her a month ago she braided her hair smartly, donned her leather armor, spiked skirts _(which he hated of course)_, boots and leather armbands. Her appearance somewhat decent and presentable she walked out of her door careful to strap on her throwing axes and sling her battle axe on the back.

Going down the first floor she spotted her mother cooking something in their pot, she approached her and asked, "Got something to eat mum?"

"Gargle some salts first and I'll get you some onion soup," her mother said without turning away from her stirring, "Are you going back to the Chief's house?"

"Hmm? Ufh hyeahh-" she tilted her head as she gargled the brackish liquid of mixed salt and warm water, "I have to go there, see how Hiccup's doing."

"Does Valka approve?"

"She encourages it."

Gunnhild smiled and winked at her daughter, "That's good to hear, so she also approves of your nightly rendezvous with Hiccup?"

PFFTTTT!

The brine sprayed all over the sink as Astrid wiped the dripping salty water on her lips, what the hell? Her mother knew, play it cool Astrid, "What are you talking about mum? Nightly?"

"Your father knew you were sleeping in the forges, you were ambushed there weren't you?"

"Yeah, but we uh-" she was wiping her face, trying to hide her sweating forehead, "-we were just talking? We weren't doing anything bad!"

"So, if he asks and want to get married, will you agree?"

Astrid suddenly felt uncomfortable at the stern gaze her mother has given her, "My dear child, if your not ready and is not committed then you should not be playing around. Marriage, in our culture is a lasting affair and it could get pretty bloody sometimes especially your would-be husband is our future Chief."

"I know mum, we have an understanding."

"Ok, so you have that, are you taking precautions?"

The blonde haired young woman was stumped, "What precautions?"

"I mean protection Astrid, if you don't want to be a mother yet then I could give you a tea that-"

"HOLD IT! Oh my Gods-" she was blushing as her mother continued rummaging through the cupboards, "Mother, I am not having this conversation with you about the _'birds and the bees'_, its making me uncomfortable and its weird as hell."

"Why? I'm just saying that you should be careful, anyways if you did decide to go and plunge ahead then the tea is on the topmost shelf on the left side of the kitchen near the bath salts."

"I'm leaving for the Haddock Halls mother," she turned annoyed at her mother's antics, "I cannot believe I'm hearing this from you."

Astrid could only shake her head in disbelief on how her mother is acting up on her. Seriously, doesn't she have enough problems already than having parents that are overeager for a what? Grandchildren!?

"Astrid," Camicazi called out from behind her, "How is Hiccup?"

She can only sigh, "He is resting now. Considering the damage he took he managed to pull through the night- his companions said he'll live and we were lucky that we were somehow able to fight back," Astrid shook her head defeated, "But we- I mean, I was unprepared. I never imagined that the enemy could be so... so skilled."

"Don't let it get to you," their faux-prisoner can only reply as she puts a hand on Astrid's shoulder, "Remember, I am a friend of Berk- I know the feeling of someone dear that is about to fight a more powerful adversary, believe me, I know."

Realization dawned on her as her mouth hung open, "The- the Burglar Champion, Kalina- was your_ elder_ sister?"

"Both in name and blood-"

"I didn't know-"

"-because I didn't tell anyone."

"Guess I somehow understand what you mean now Camicazi, that the only thing I can do now is to become stronger. To be strong enough in skill and spirit so I can stand beside him whenever he needs me," she gripped her throwing axes and looked intently at the gleaming blades, "I should train for now."

Astrid was about to step outside when Camicazi called out to her again, she stopped and looked back at her caller. Sheathing her sword and tying it to her leather belt, the young Burglar princess tied her hair in a ruffled ponytail and smiled at the Shieldmaiden of Berk.

"I'll go with you."

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Dragon Arena

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Ruff and Tuff rubbed the sore spot on their noses as they carried the debris from their antics last night. They managed to retreat a good distance into the solid wooden supports of the arena when the bombard exploded into millions of pieces. Picking up the pieces from their antics was hard, they've been at it since the early morning. The Chief and his council clapped them in irons at first, but according to Fishlegs, Hiccup himself appealed to the ruling Council and commuted their sentence since their naughtiness woke him up and alerted him to the presence of the assassins.

Still, cleaning up after their antics was not cool.

"Damn it, it was real fun you know?"

"Yeah, and it was real cool too that Hiccup didn't tear us a new one too."

"-but cleaning really sucks."

"You should be grateful," Astrid with Camicazi walking behind her stepped up to the rise just before the main entrance door as they headed towards the inside of the arena. The twisted piece of metal that was Hiccup's bombard prototype lay crumpled and maimed on one side, "Considering the work he had done to make this prototype worked. You were lucky Hic never dismisses a bad deed gone good."

"And you're point?"

The blonde Valkyrie took her axe and plunged the pointed ends to the ground, "My point, is that are we satisfied with what we are right now?"

"What do you mean? Grow up faster?" Tuff asked.

"I mean is that are we satisfied to just stay on the sidelines? Doing nothing and just waiting for our chance to help without being of help to him 90% of the time?"

Camicazi stepped forward and unsheathed her sword, "I say we train, I say that we train so hard that we do not need to stay on the sidelines, just staying there and being useless. We can do this! If Hiccup can do this then so we can!"

"You cannot do this."

The twins, Astrid and Camicazi looked at the sound of the voice, it was cold, deep and chilling to hear. From a dark corner two members of the White Hands stepped out into the light. The effects were instant, their skin crawled with uneasiness, throats suddenly turned dry, and hearts thundered inside their chest. Gods, what is it that made their enemies have an effect on them like this?

"You cannot do this because I know none of you can fight as well as he is," the largest Dark Elf, dismissing last night's enemy of course, stepped forward and smiled dangerously, "You are unskilled, your stance erratic and weak, and your eyes are all blind."

"Bravado fuels your warriors, but bravado can only get you so far-" from behind he dragged a booted leg, he threw him towards Astrid and he landed with a thud in their feet, "-just like what I tried to teach this young man."

From the ground Snotlout looked up at them, one of his eye closed from an uncontrolled swelling. The Dark Elves stepped forward and stabbed his large sword on the ground. The other one had long hair and it was the one that administered the drug that cured Hiccup.

"My name is Rafiq, and this-" he pointed to their medic, "-is Portio, we will train you, hone you, to be the somewhat '_passable'_ companion for Hiccup so that we won't have this problem in the future. Seeing as how the _'excellent specimen'_ for a Viking fared well against me, would anybody else like to try?"

No one moved or spoke, even the twins were silent, only Snotlout's pained groaning could be heard.

"Are Vikings so cowardly-?"

"Damn you for saying that!?" an axe flew towards him as Camicazi and the twins also charged him with improvised weapons that they probably got from the debris all around them, "You will pay!"

"DON'T! HE'LL FLATTEN YOU!" Snotlout's cry wasn't even heard.

Rafiq simply twisted his body left and right gracefully that the throwing axes flight path didn't even graze him a little bit. Astrid was the first upon him, but expectantly as she swung her axe down, Rafiq simply stepped forward eliminating the range of the weapon. Standing too close to her enemy she was shocked that a large man, a large Dark Elf, could move so fast. He opened his palm and struck Astrid in the stomach, her breathe was driven out of her as her knees folded and she crumpled to the ground.

Camicazi passed her as Astrid knelt on the ground gasping for air, her longsword aimed forward she thrust it with the force of her body, but the Dark Elf tapped the flat part of the sword with his palm while still moving forward and struck her in the forehead with a headbutt. The pain simply blacked out her mind and she fell down unconscious on the side.

The twins came charging next and Rafiq could see they move almost perfectly in snych. But as soon as they were in range, he exploded into action, Ruff swung first, it went wide and was too strong to recover quickly. As Tuff also followed, their enemy grabbed Ruffnut by the neck and easily spun her around towards her brother. Confused and unable to react quickly, he missed the timing and collided hard with his sister. Both spun around, dazed as they flopped on the ground.

"Hah," Rafiq sighed, "I thought it would be easy, but not this easy- damn it."

Astrid was only beginning to recover when Rafiq stepped forward and aimed his large sword at her. His eyes were cold and calculating, yet they could all see that he was somewhat pitying them. She was about to blurt out something again when Portio finally came forward while shaking his head, "You should not have been so rough with them, how could you even liken them to your level? Even in Elven standards you would have been exceptional. You should have been more patient, and at least, lowered your skill level so you can empathize and see what they needed to even learn-"

"They're just so weak-!" Rafiq screamed shaking his head in disappointment, "I don't know how we can turn them around in a few weeks!?"

"Why don't I try? I'm a healer so I tend to be very patient and can be quite cut out for works that require such_'delicate and finesse'_ skills, of course only when the situation calls for it."

"Is this one of those situations then?"

Portio nodded and Rafiq shook his head and threw his arm in the air, "Suit yourself, when they are ready then I shall fight them."

Encouraged, Astrid, Camicazi and the twins approached, even Snotlout started to stand up. He methodically looked at each and every one of his new _charges_ and smiled at them.

"Now then, may I properly introduce myself," the Dark Elf healer stood straighter and bowed slightly, "I am Portio, High Incubi and field surgeon to the White Hands Kabal. Pleased to meet you all."

Portio was a tall Dark Elf, he's quite lanky in appearance, yet his skill could not be so easily dismissed. A medical healer skilled in the Elven and Asgardian ways of healing, he is also one of the skilled poisoners that the Kabal employs. With silver hair tied up in a pony tail, his features showed the best of his race's aesthetic qualities. Long sharp nose, a thin mouth, wide eyes that can easily see in the darkness, his only peculiar things in him is his single monocle perched precariously on his prominent nose, and black Elven gloves. Upon closer inspection though, the gloves seemed to be made out of small hammered plates that was burned black in fires on its manufacture.

"As you will see, we are just two now- we will need you to learn numerous skills, both in conventional and unconventional warfare, you will be hurt, you will be wounded, and I might break some bones, but at the end of the day I assure you that you would do well against your enemies. And fight with Hiccup on at least equal par."

Everyone listened attentively and held their heads high. If what this Elf said was true, then they could maneuver and fight just like Hiccup. Their hearts aflame with fiery purpose their faces showed eagerness as Portion capitalized on it, he gestured towards Tuffnut and smiled, "You want to volunteer?"

The male of the Thornston twins smiled and nods his head, "Now, we would begin your instructions- by understanding lessons and the mantra you must adhere to inside a combat situation, you can be an effective force in dealing with threats in and out of your island."

"Any time you are ready, attack me in any way you can- and remember you must attack to kill."

Tuff swung his arm and was instantly intercepted by Portio using his left hand, he extended the blocking hand, grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and spun him away tumbling into the ground.

"I said to attack me- attack me with an intention to kill! Is that how Vikings kill!?"

Tuffnut suddenly ran forward to his enemy, raising his leg preparing for a running heel kick at him, but Master Portio was faster. Blocking with his left hand again, the White Hand Incubi struck the diaphragm area hard with his fist driving the wind out of him, he didn't rear the right hand to strike, instead he spun it on the elbow and struck him in the center of the jaw, then with his left fist came another straight punch to the diaphragm. Jarred and in pain he didn't see, only felt the right elbow swinging quickly to the left hitting him squarely in the jaw, another half-step forward and the right elbow swung again to the right this time hitting Tuff in the midriff.

A judo throw using his useless right hand sent the male of the Thornston twins into the dirt. His eyes were wide and his mouth hung open, shocked and stunned as the pain coursed all around his body, or to be more precise, on his jaw and his midriff. Gods, he was so fast and his strikes were like sticks poking him left and right. He couldn't even react, much less defend himself, or pull his body into a protective fetal position. The strikes were so precise and direct he could not give an immediate answer.

Bloody hell.

Master Portio was already walking towards the rest before he could even regain his full body sense.

"Lesson 1: You should not be useless in a fight even without weapons."

Tuffnut suddenly charged at him from behind and tried to tackle him, but Portio simply raised his hand and twitched his middle finger and the charging Viking fell down flat on his face. Something must have tripped him considering his sudden stop and the way he stopped, landing flat on his face and using it to lessen the blow, he could only scream into the ground.

"owww..."

"Lesson 2: Just because you fight without any obvious weapons doesn't mean you have no weapons at all."

Portio moved his thumb and pinkie finger, suddenly, the erring Tuffnut dangled at the air, hog-tied from his feet and turned upside down to hang in front of Astrid and everyone else.

"Lesson 3: Never give your enemy a chance, lest they use that to change the momentum in battle."

"Now then," Portio turned to Ruffnut's general direction and smiled sweetly, "Your turn I suppose my lady."

The rest of the day continued with them getting thrown around while being lectured by their magnanimous teacher. As the lunch hour arrived they were finally allowed to go back and rest for a while. They resumed their _formal instruction_ an hour exactly after lunch time.

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Astrid, Camicazi and the rest of their peers moved at the Long Hall provided by the Chief to their guests. Portio and Rafiq sequestered their charges namely, Astrid, Camicazi, the twins, Snotlout and Fishlegs, they were instructed to provide themselves with usable bedding, ample clothes, weapons and their necessary tools for their maintenance. All got the necessary tools and items they need to stay in their barracks as everyone tried settling down. Their bunk beds were arranged so that they were able to stay in one room, on a far corner curtains were erected to afford the young women some privacy as they dress, but all in all, it was a communal room and as their instructor said no hanky-panky could ever occur.

"No _hanky-panky_ will ever occur until your sequestration is finished, you are here to be instructed on the best of the tactics and skills that our race could offer. You will live together as friends, as brothers and sisters, and as comrades-in-arms. Failure to comply to our rules will result in immediate punishment, there is no quitting in our group- remember, _Death before Dishonor!"_

Hiccup learned of the sequestration of his friends recently when Astrid came over for a visit, he was a bit worried at the tone his old comrades took, but he knew it was for the best. He has absolute faith in all of them that they would all survive their hardships under those two.

Coming back to the Guest Hall, she found her friends and their two instructors encircling the fiery hearth that was located in the middle of their Halls. Rafiq was nursing a tankard of ale while Portio was showing them a projection from a memory stone, she could see that Fishlegs was drinking all the wonders of the magic crystal while the others showed rapt fascination at the moving pictures.

"Remember Tuffnut," Portio sharply looked and swiped the flashing stone, "Look at your enemy's eyes- sometimes they betray their next move by glancing only by a split second on their intended target."

"But I saw that your eyes didn't even move, nor flinch when you smack me in the gut-"

"True, because I was properly trained to remain neutral, even in the face of pain when fighting against an enemy," their teacher smiled and hid the stone inside his chest pocket, "Tomorrow, we would commence your hand-to-hand fighting training. I will require all of you to rest now, at the crack of dawn your beds will be made, you will be cleaned and prepared to condition your body to take the extreme pressure of training under our regimen."

"Master Portio, may I ask a question?"

He turned and looked directly at Astrid, "Yes you may ask."

"What weapon do you use?"

"Let me show you," he smiled at her and flexed his gloved hands, from the fire they were now able to discern ghostly threads of wisp like fabric. Deceitfully looking like silk strands, it was actually strings made out of Mithril, a material so strong you could not destroy it easily. Portio twitched a finger and one of the firewood seemed to float in mid-air, another twitch and suddenly they saw that the wood was sliced into hundreds of individual little burning pieces. It fell down into a pile near the bonfire and he simply prodded it back into the flame with a hot poker.

"Cool."

"Not really, but it gets the job done-" he smiled reassuringly, "Especially in assassination jobs- it is very quiet and very sharp... it also confuses the enemy giving me more time to, well you know."

"Not to mention very brutal and unconventional," Camicazi shivered at the implication if a hand managed to get entangled at those metallic strings.

"It is brutal, but that is what war is young lady," Portio said as he stood up and gestured towards the lined up bunk beds, "Now then, sleep beckons- for tomorrow you can be sure, I would not be so lenient as I was today."

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The Realm Eternal Asgard

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Odin walked with heavy footfalls towards the armory, just to be sure sixteen _Einherjars _trailed behind him with shields raised spears and swords at the ready. The recent actions that are of questionable nature in and out of Asgard's operating procedures have been going on lately. Ever since that kid left, or rather arrived, the future he had beheld was suddenly changed. An entire year, only once does he feel vulnerable and that is when the _Odinsleep_ occurs, losing hos godly vestments and title, he is reduced to an old feeble man, sleeping in defenseless in all manner of speaking. However, the sleep also gives him the chance to see the future, glimpses of the coming tragedies and sorrow that he would normally unable to see.

His remaining eye, though can see in the future, but only in short distances and it is at his will that he sees it. The _Odinsleep _gives him the chance to see everything, every possible scenario that could happen in the years to come. Hiccup's coming to Asgard was foretold 300 years ago when his ancestors first colonized their somewhat small island, he was asleep and the contact with the scions of the Nidhogg and the Midgardians came to the fore.

So, just to make sure that the scenario he saw did not happen, he carried his elite sixteen and walked down to the deepest part of the realm eternal. There they traveled down, beyond the sight of Heimdall and his guardianship, finally they came upon a door so large none can see its top. From below a raised dais accommodates Lord Odin as he raised his spear and slammed it on top of the platform, a large deep rumbling sound came forth, like the sound of large iron gears turning for the first time in a millennium of immobility. Darkness greeted him as they only saw darkness inside cavernous room, the Einherjars formed a circle on the raised dais as Lord Odin called out in a loud voice.

"Show yourself beast! I, Odin Allfather commands you!"

The darkness moved inside, or rather something large inside disturbed the lines that hid everything in darkness. Dark miasma started pouring out as two red glowing eyes for slits came forth near the opening, hovering and switching between the two eyes until finally it blink in recognition.

**"Release me." **the burning eyes demanded, **"Release me and I shall ease your suffering Allfather."**

Each eye almost covered the gigantic door, as the Einherjar held their ground of the monstrous creature.

"You will not be released until the end has come, no signs have been seen and you would not be set free Serpent."

**"Release me and I give you my word I'll destroy Asgard first,"**the voice shrieked, **"Not long now Odin, I feel the hold of Yggdrasil loosening upon me. I can wait Allfather, I know it will, soon."**

With a twitch of his powerful spear the door began to close again, but suddenly a single black claw that is as large as the door itself jammed in-between the closing gates. The _Einherjars _exploded into action, forming an attacking line, they lined up their shields and with spears raised charged the erring claw. From behind, the rest armed themselves with fiery bows as Odin vainly tried closing the gate.

Their glowing spears proved to be of no match to the large claw that was jamming the door, it was not even affecting the damn thing. Seeing his warrior vainly fighting and prodding the enemy to dislodge its appendage to seal it again, he raised _Gungnir _in a rage and aimed it at the door. A single ray of light, as powerful as a star's cosmic energy exploded from the spear tip. A deep rumbling growl of pain as the jammed claw was retracted once more into the shadows. The gates finally sealed shut and Odin finally saw the glowing lights on the panel that appeared near the dais.

He shook his head in disbelief, there were supposed to be Nine Keys that would seal away the Nidhogg- then why is it that only two keyholes are now empty? The other locks already have their keys turned and sealed into place, he quickly headed for the stairs as the _Einherjars_ followed in his wake. Walking quickly he felt two omniscient eyes on him and he closed his remaining eye.

_"Heimdall."_

_"Yes, my King."_

_"The Seven Keys are compromised- alert Thor and the Warrior's Three."_

_"The Warrior's Three have not concluded their mission on Vanaheim- it would be unwise to pull them back when victory is quite close."_

_"Assemble a division and have them sent to the rebel encampment- I want that crisis over and the four of them assembled when I get back from here."_

_"Yes, my King."_

_"Heimdall," _Odin paused and hoped, beyond all hope that his vision will not happen, _"Have you seen- have you seen Loki yet?"_

Silence as the words in his head did not continue for a minute, he was contemplating on what he must do in case their problem did come into fruitition. Odin walked in silence until finally Heimdall's deep voice penetrated his senses, _"I'm sorry my Lord, my eyes have scoured the Nine Realms and he is still hidden from my sight."_

Odin Allfather sighed and whispered at the darkened stairway, "First the crisis at Alfheim, then Jotunheim's mobilization, then this civil unrest at Vanaheim, and now one of my wayward sons is missing. On top of the Niddhog about to be released from his prison- what have you done Loki."

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Midgard, Vatican City Papal States

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Pope Alexander VI stepped inside the papal apartments of Castel Gandolfo as he stripped of his holy vestments. His personal Swiss guards stood at the foot of the stairs as he went up to the second floor to welcome his guests. Truth be told being Pope to almost a billion people wasn't so bad, you could send out Papal Decrees for a Crusade and kingdoms, even Empires even fold their knees and send you soldiers, men, and gold to fulfill their services to God. He took his fair share, but only his fair share.

Cesare, one of his sons had just dodged a major controversy at his behest. The death of Giovanni, his eldest son implicated Cesare greatly, but he could not allow such rumor to fester and spread if he would increase his war potential. In record time, his office issued a Papal Bull stating that the death of Giovanni, may he rest in peace, will be placed in the hands of the living God. Effectively, all ongoing investigations by all authorities and by all kingdoms will be revoked and rejected by the Vatican and the Holy See on the grounds of the decree by the Papal Bull.

He shook his head as he grew weary at the numerous problems he's currently facing right now, if only Cesare would just keep his head down for a while and also his temper in check. But he knew his insane son could not control his temper more so than he could control his loins.

Closing the door to his study he poured himself some wine sent to him from a warlord in Valencia asking for absolution of his sins, fool, if he offered his military and help then he might have considered. He sat on his large oak throne and swilled the sinful liquid in his mouth.

"The Spanish Kingdom of Aragon sends their congratulations at the end of the _'Ball'_ that we have hosted- perverts every single one of them-" he commented as he sifted through the numerous mail that came from high-ranking Lords and Ladies from various Christian Kingdom scattered, around the world, "Another appeal from the Duke of Lombard to divorce his marriage- he's queer that bastard."

"The City State of Venice ask your presence to- nah, I tend to puke when they rock me inside their gondolas."

"The French Crown humbly ask for your intervention for their dispute with the Spanish- what do you think of me? A bureaucrat that's supposed to be handling this things? I'm the Holy Father damn it! Denied!"

"Petition for the new convent and orphanage- meh! More money for the poor, DENIED!"

"Respectfully ask for an audience for the Coalition? Tributes of slaves, gold and numerous items... Hmm, slaves huh? APPROVED then."

As he read and commented on the letters he's currently reading, from the corner of his eye, in mid-sip of the fine wine, he saw something glowing on his peripheral vision. Following the dull glow he saw that a tall young man with sharp features stood near the door, with long sleek black hair and impossibly green eyes he looked at him with amusement, bordering on malice.

"Chi sei?"

The man did not reply, instead he straightened up and began to walk in front of the large oaken table. Pope Alexander VI panicked a little as he saw that the dull glow coming from the man was from a bladed scepter that pulsed with unknown energies that both entranced and scared the Holy Father.

"Cosa sta facendo qui?"

He was an old man, and he shivered in fear as the young man removed his silvery mask and raised the scepter with his right hand and moved it towards his chest.

"AIUTO! QUALCUNO! AIUTO! AIUTO PER FAVORE!"

The glowing of the scepter intensified as the sound of running feet thundered to the top of the stairs, the tip of the scepter touched the chest of the Holy Father the same time the double door towards his study blew off its hinges as the six Swiss Guards that heard his cries of help had their weapons drawn.

Pope Alexander VI, formerly Rodrigo Cardinal y Borgia of Aragon in Spain, quaked with fear as the Guards was showered with a gale of ice coming from the stranger's outstretched left hand. When did he raise it, he would never know, it was then that he saw the intruder's lips move and his mind blanked out of everything else.

"Chi- chi sei...? the last of his resolve sinking into a deep dark abyss, he managed to ask, "Cosa vui?"

The stranger smiled cruelly as the Swiss Guards now frozen in place started to crumble where they stood, the Holy Father's eyes were vacant yet his expression of absolute horror was now replaced with dumb indifference. The green armored man stepped up to one of Caster Gandolfo's windows and scanned the outside world.

"My name is Loki good puppet," he approached the winery and poured himself a glass of fine wine, "And I am burdened with _glorious __purpose._"

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**To be continued...**

**Author's note:**

I sincerely apologize for each and everyone that was shocked at what I said. I usually let things slide and just turn the other cheek, but being said that I stole works from Sir Tolkien just rattles my teeth so hard it hurts. It hurts because they don't know how much I love that guy, I even took_ Sindarin_ reading materials (they are available online) just so I can understand the poems in his _Unfinished Tales of Middle-Earth._ _(Yes, Sindarin is the Elvish language Tolkien used and developed.)_

I apologize sincerely who can't believe I spouted such unrefined words, but being called that I stole something from a writer that actually made me fall in love with the fantasy, sword fighting, and epic army marches genre just plucked my heartstrings in a very, very, very bad way.

Italian translations thanks to my friendly Italian cab driver and for the little bit of information on his Catholic heritage, **_Marco Antonio Giuseppe_** Grazie mi amico!

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Chi sei? = Who are you?

Cosa sta facendo qui? = What are you doing here?"

AIUTO! QUALCUNO! AIUTO PER FAVORE! = Help! Someone/Anyone! HELP PLEASE!"

Cosa Vui? = What do you want?

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Forgive me everyone,

Scarabeye3000


	25. Chapter 25

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Shout out to my signed reviews! You know who you are: **SMr. Freeze, The Viking Stranger, UnbreakableWarrior, Patty4577, jlghighlander, Sonochu, snoopykid, dracologistmaster**

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**Disclaimer: Any characters mentioned are all under copyright. This work is purely fan-made.**

**Title: From Asgard to Midgard**

**Author: Scarabeye3000**

**Chapter 25: **_**'Go forward and fight.**_**_'_**

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The Vatican City

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The Holy Father stared down from his throne as the delegation from Spain and from France came together under the flag of truce in front of the Holy See. Heeding the letters to intervene in their behalf, Pope Alexander VI tried not to fall asleep as the Spanish representative, a well-known Count of high standing speaking heatedly on the virtues of their manhood or rather their monarch's manhood. The French delegates remained aloof and allowed their counter-parts to run off their mouths in front of the conference. The Pope's new adjutant stood alert and immobile, a black suited Archbishop who was once an adjutant of the former Pope.

Under the orders of the adjutant, they were not served wine nor coffee, to ensure that nothing will excite the attendees. Cold water extracted from the nearby mountains and cooled in special containers were served as the main quencher of the attendees. The Spanish Count from the Order of Alcantara, one of the most prestigious and was sanctioned by Rodrigo's predecessor, Pope Alexander III spoke eloquently and forcefully.

"The Spanish Crown demands from the Kingdom of France that they relinquish from their protectorate, the Kingdom of Monaco-"

"No, no you pompous Aragonese Count-" a French Marquis, probably from the Royal Family himself though it is impossible to tell since the speaker wore an iron mask concealing his face, "How dare you demand from my Monarch a pittance of that protectorate!"

"How do you explain then honorable... Marquis? That you threaten to invade Spain if we involve ourselves in this Monaco business?"

The Marquis stood up straighter and looked at the Count dangerously, "To reach Monaco, you would need to cross French soil- and if you cross our realm with an army it is vital to our defense that any hostiles must be repulsed at once or trampled by our knights."

"You speak of defense as if you know of it."

"Of course, _monsieur Aragon-"_

"You would not know what defense is if it hit you in the face estupido!"

The Marquis stood up and banged the table, "And as if you know? You boasts of self sufficiency in the Holy Land, yet you can't even unseat the Muslims at Valencia! Your own backyard!? Self-righteous ingrates, we know of what your monarchs do to your heroes!"

_"Callar bastardo! _Spain has been fighting the Berbers, the Almoravids, the Muslim raiders coming from Africa and from the Strait of Gibraltar. We have held the tip of Europe under our rule and under us no Muslim Sultan or General set foot on your own kingdom!"

"_Sacre Bleu!_ El Cid fought the Muslims and your monarchs threw him out! That is absurd _Monsieur!_ We would not accept this unreasonable terms from unreasonable people- the Rulers of Monaco will be protected by France indirectly by not allowing your army safe passage in our borders_,_ their defense is tantamount to France's own defense as the mutual agreement had been beneficial for more than 300 years under the pretense that Monaco is a kingdom within a kingdom!"

"You let your territories at the Holy Land to fall to Ottoman hands and now you spout of defense? _Tonto!_ How dare you!?"

_"Merde! C'est vraitment des conneries! Ferme la bouche!" , (Shit! This is bullshit! Shut up *very rude way*!_

_"Puto la maricon!" , (slutty gay.)_

Gutter language flew back and forth as Rodrigo Borgia, or aptly named Alexander VI shook his head and raised his hand to silence.

A few more snide remarks and shaking of fist, but thankfully, no swords or blood were drawn.

"It is clear to the Holy See that the aggrieved and the bereaved would not reach mutual agreement as of this time-" he shook his head as his adjutant came forward with a piece of parchment and some writing material, "-we of the Holy See, which is the true Vicar of Christ on this Earth, decree forthwith that the heralds of the combined Kingdoms of Castille and Aragon and the Kingdom of France, together with their respective retinues and escorts shall be sequestered on _Castel Santa Angelo-"_

The two princes from the respective kingdoms erupted into protests at once.

"But Holy Father- "

"My lord- to hold us at the Castel? We are not even prisoners!"

"-furthermore," Rodrigo Borgia shrugged off their protests like duck shrugging water, "...they are tasked to come up with a solution to this histrionics within 20 days, upon which the initial draft of their treaty, including exclusions, terms and conditions would be sent to their respective kingdoms in the fastest time possible and to expedite the quickest response from their own kingdoms."

The Cardinal wrote the exact same words in High Latin as the Princes all sat in silence, their own retinues remained silent behind them.

"-addendum, if any unforeseen circumstances should happen to any and all parties, et al; assassination, disease, disappearance, or any act proven to be less than the hand of God, it is the Holy See's and the Papal States prerogative to hold the other party accountable, pending serious investigation by the office of the Vicar of Christ. Any party found guilty would be held and be declared _Excommunicado Tratoris _and if successive evidence point otherwise would be summarily executed, and their citizens (innocent/guilty) declared _Persona Non Grata_ to all churches under the command of the Holy See. So ordered, Pope Alexander VI."

Red hot wax was poured on the document by the Cardinal, he signed his name indicating his rank and of his office. Then he jotted down the name of Pope Alexander VI, he took the signet ring, or the Fisherman's Ring as the Pope hands it over to him. Pressing it into the hot wax, the design on the front clearly indicates an official document coming from the authority of the Holy See itself. The two princes grudgingly accepted their copies as the Swiss Guards came inside the sealed room and quickly led them away towards_ Castel Santa Angelo._

Pope Alexander VI stood up quickly as his guest were led outside. Walking up to his study, he slammed the door shut as his adjutant stood near the wine rack and poured a helping of wine. Rodrigo shook his head as he turned to a nearby sofa and saw someone sitting on it.

"And you are?"

White sallow skin, black smooth hair as their guest stood up and smiled dangerously. His demeanor as dangerous as the blade sheathed on his hip, the Pope looked back at him unconcerned as the Cardinal took a sip of the wine and waited.

"My name is Cythrax- I am the Archon of the Iron Thorns Kabal," another shadow stepped behind him and now the Pope took a step back in fear. "We asked for an audience with you- and you have accepted. Our presence should be of no surprise to you then."

"I am Neroth, Warlock of Archon Cythrax, pleasure to meet you... monkeigh spirit leader," the man called Neroth looked back at him from behind a skull mask, he carried a staff that rippled with obvious energy and seemed to bend the light that passed through the pulsing jewel at the top.

Cythrax stood up and walked around the office and scrutinized everything, like an inquisitor looking upon the things of those that he is about to deem unworthy, the Archon then turned to the Pope and smiled again.

"You have excellent taste in art, wine and hobbies."

Rodrigo Borgia's eyes furrowed, "Whatever do you mean by that?"

"It means that I have knowledge that you have purchased- or rather your family has purchased almost 200 slaves from my enterprise... and like a good businessman, any transaction that seemed to increase my profit would come to my attention."

"Iron Thorns huh? I seem to have read a report about your syndicate."

"Ouch! Why so serious Pope Alexander? Is not your church another grand syndicate?"

"Whatever do you mean?"

Cythrax smiled, "Think, you accept tributes, payments, gold and treasures from every noble that seemed to ask you for favors that are not so easily obtainable by man... yet this church does nothing, merely preaches that the truth is this and that- Jesus this, Moses that... that sort of garbage does not hold my attention."

"Do you know what holds my attention human?" the Archon smiled evily, "Power, wealth, and pleasure so intense you simply die every time it crawls upon your whole body."

Rodrigo stood up straighter and also smiled dangerously, "What is it you truly want then?" he walked up to the wine case and carefully poured a measured amount from the decanter.

"You- you are different? Does your status accord you immunity from our... charms?"

"Your charms would need to be much stronger than that to affect me-"

"What do you-?" the Dark Elf stopped and held the Pope's gaze. They were unfocused, they were inert and unseeing. Whatever happened, he seemed to have lost his consciousness and was moving independently and talking animatedly at him. He watched as the Pope walked over to a side of the library and stop in front of the sitting Cardinal.

With rapt attention, they watched with unbridled amusement as Alexander VI bent his knees to kneel in front of the Cardinal and puts the chalice of excellent wine on the hands of the lower-ranked cleric.

"You-"

The Cardinal smiled, gone was the lines and signs of old age. The wrinkled hands were smoothed as the liver spots vanished into nothingness, the dark brown eyes now held bright green ones as the carefully cropped hair now extended beyond the shoulders already reaching the middle of his back. Cythrax couldn't help it, but he smiled at the audacity of their guests. Instead of meeting with their contact, their contact went the other way around and came for them instead.

Loki tore off the hanging skin as he magically melted the disguise marking him as the old Cardinal. He accepted the goblet of wine as Cythrax and Neroth walked over to him and bowed slightly in respect.

"So, I guess you are the Betrayer?"

"Astute observation, we have much to discuss."

"I understand Lord Loki- may our master find such an honor to bestow on you the minute you finish our tasks."

"I have knowledge that you are trying to scour Midgard for the Key."

The Dark Elf's eyes widened, "I was not aware that you have foregone the usual manner of information- but it is expected. Yes, we were tasked to find the Key though indirectly."

"You are a patsy then? Your Lord is truly cunning."

"True, the Nargothrond Campaign and the resulting war that's sweeping the Nine Realms are but distractions of the real going-on and would have given us free rein in pursuing our agendas. There is another Kabal that was given the primary task of that and they have remained hidden all this time, I have no knowledge about that, but Lord Malekith informed us about it. "

Loki stood up and swirled the sinful liquid, "I see then- it would be unfortunate then if a civilization would encounter them? Well, we have certainly made their jobs easier."

"Whatever do you mean?"

"I have found information about the location of the Key, but to scour its location from the annals of antiquity we will need a sizable force to root it out."

Cythrax smiled and showed his fangs, "The Coalition- no the Kabal would be used I presume?"

"Of course not," this words gave a frown to the two Dark Elves, "Would you expose yourselves too early? Our enemies would come forward if such an overt move is given. We should try a more subtle approach- am I right good puppet?"

Pope Alexander bowed respectfully and smiled, "Yes my lord, I have the perfect plan in mind."

"Let's hear it then."

"In recent years, with the Reconquista of the Spanish and the French Renaissance beginning to unfold the Catholic Church had some problems with heretics. The Holy See deemed it necessary to make sure that true adherence to the state religion is continuing and all signs of deviancy would be expunged. It gave broad discretion to all methods to prove one's own faith and display of religious zeal and resilience. We only need to ask a Christian country to use their armies to carry out Inquisitorial duties and they would be paid a sum for their troubles."

"Gold?"

Rodrigo Borgia nods his head to the Warlock, "Only gold Master Warlock is deemed acceptable, by utilizing the local army commanded by men of cloth. They are _'inspired'_ that doing the Lord's work would redeem them and carry their souls to heaven. Of course, these are lies, but they do not need to know that."

"Of course doing so would let us give the freedom to move around a nation or a territory correct?"

Loki and Cythrax smiled as the Pope nodded. So cunning indeed.

.

.

Berk

.

"Why the hell are we doing this again?"

"Survival and all that crap..."

"aha..."

Snotlout griped as he tried balancing the heavy sword on his arms, Tuffnut panting beside him as they began their morning run around the village fully armored and fully armed. After a week of being sequestered, the Riders of Berk began their conditioning and sure enough they were easily sent flying to the ground. Master Portio, their Dark Elf teacher, already taught them the necessary skills to move about freely. Skill and agility for the much smaller and nimbler members, while strength and skill were given to the bulkier ones. But their conditioning remained the same all throughout.

Using the numerous houses and obstacles to their advantage, they were taught to move like the wind, and flow like water.

Or so they said in the first few days, which gave them much of their bruises and broken bones. Mainly from falling on wooden fences, or obstacles that they weren't able to see or misjudged, not including the broken roofs that simply caved in because they were unable to put the correct weight on the correct location. At the morning, Master Portio or sometimes Master Rafiq would run them to the ground with calisthenics and running, after breakfast they are taught free-running by Portio. Followed by swordsmanship and skill training by Rafiq or if time allows Portio takes over with the obvious delight of Tuffnut and Snotlout.

All in all, their training was going well considering their penchant to stumble or still be confused by their instructors wild attacks.

Sometimes, just to heighten their senses, Portio or Rafiq would attack them in their sleep. Although so far none have obtained grave injuries, most have gotten hairline fractures from broken bones, or thinly sliced injuries that drew blood. Mostly it scared the hell out of them, but after a week of being constantly in alert, a slight noise or just an uneven breathing near them would cause them to stir and awaken. Considering they were so unaccustomed to attacks before, everyone considers it a great achievement in terms of their skills.

Summing it all up, they can do a passable free-run through the village now. Last more than five minutes against Rafiq or Portio, if they attack all at once, and learned to stay alive in the face of a very skilled opponent, in theory. Training with their specialized weapons, Astrid, Snotlout and Fishlegs have now gone forward and began training also with their advanced combat instructor, Master Rafiq.

"Remember Snotlout, you are the strongest of your generation, Hiccup has seen that and bestowed upon you a great weapon" Rafiq said as he twirled a rather smaller sword aimed at him, "If you could wield it like an extension of your arm, then you could be a force to be reckoned with."

"It's heavy."

"It's a shield breaking sword, it is supposed to be heavy," their instructor shook his head and smacked his student in the head, "Less complaining, more swinging-"

"My arms are sore! I'm swinging this damn thing around the whole day and I'm still as clumsy as a three legged yak trying to do the hokey-pokey."

"What you lack is balance and focus, why do you think I've been teaching you free-running? So it can increase not just your agility, but also your focus- the way you fight is the way you think, like thinking five or ten steps ahead. Fight with your head Snotlout, not with just your arms."

Snotlout grunted as he heaved the heavy sword over as Rafiq blocked it with his smaller one. The dance continued again for an hour after that.

.

Hiccup limped as he tried standing up, Toothless already standing by his side as he took a tentative step towards the stairs. It has been amazing to learn what happened to his friends, including the advancements to their skills and their techniques. Now, he would need to get stronger and get back into the grind. Numerous other projects are now lined up and not just the improvement of the Berkian Islands.

Walking downstairs he found Valka cleaning some fish that was probably delivered by their fishing boats. Lately, the fishing fleet has been complaining of fewer catches, but Hiccup argued that the fish might have been driven off by a pod of dragons. Who knows what's the reason, but so far its not as dire as the current situation of their security. The four outposts is now functioning properly, daily reports are flowing without any problems now, while their spies send word of a disturbance in the Meathead islands.

The Coalition, judging from their bold move last week of trying to assassinate him, seemed to take a step back at the current situation. So far, no attacks nor probing ships were seen on the outposts.

Two of their top assassins, probably even lieutenants of Cythrax were killed. However, many enemies escaped Nargothrond especially during the most confusing time of the conclusion of hostility and he could not assume such things so conveniently.

Regardless, seeing that the White Hands are here could mean one thing. Master Loki is here and operating in Midgard. However, why haven't he shown himself? Where is he now? What is the ultimate goal of his master? Why the hell is he even thinking about this now?

He shook his head as his mother hands him a satchel and puts a hand on his shoulder.

"I should tell you not to over-exert yourself, or don't push it too much since you're still recovering. But I know you'll do exactly the opposite of that-"

"-I'm not that hard-headed."

"You are the son of Stoick," his mother laughed a little, "The Gods know how hard his head is- now I have packed some foodstuff you can eat while working in the forges. I packed some bread, a couple of jerky, some sheep's milk..."

"I hate milk."

"Hush! Drink your milk, its good for you, remember that mother's _always, ALWAYS_ knows best."

Hiccup shook his head, mounted his dragon and headed for the door, "Thank you mother."

"Enjoy your day, I'll wait for you at dinner."

As he walked outside while riding on top of Toothless, he couldn't even believe how much damage the poisoned blood of the Dark Elves did to him. Let alone would have done more if the timely intervention of his comrades have not happened, he could have turned to the darkness and never got back. Normally, he would have walked now going to and from his home, but the effects of the poison literally drained him of energy, its debilitating effect robbed him mostly of his motor skills and damaged the small veins on his body. His nerves though suffered the most damage and is not up to 100% as of the moment. Merely walking down from the 2nd floor of their house is painful, but the mere chore of going to the forges is just plain torture.

Master Portio though is currently keeping him in a strict diet of potions aimed to repair and restore the full use of his arms and legs. He's currently due for another infusion to make sure that he heals quickly and he would be able to join them in a possible on-going hunt.

Finally, both Dragon and human reached the forges, Gobber came out carrying a pail of water as he smiled at his apprentice.

"Well now, the color of your face seems to have improved."

"The medicine Portio gives is quite effective, I've been through worse damage Gobber, believe me-" Hiccup walked slowly and entered the forges, the intense heat from the kiln greeted his face as he puts his bag on the backroom. He spreads his notes and looked down at the plans laid out before him.

"So, what are you doing right now?"

"More weapons- I need to design weapons for the twins, they may need to fight together most of the time."

"Oh, by the way, about what Fishlegs told me a while ago-"

"Ah, yes! The leather armor made from dragon skin, I think that is still debatable."

"How?"

"Well, we mount dragons right? Now, how would they feel if they saw us using their skins, most likely from dead dragons anyway, but still the skins of their brethren. And how they will react to it is what I want to know."

Gobber rubbed his stubbly chin and nods in contemplation, "You have a point boy- why not test it out? Make a leather armor from dragon skin and then see if Toothless likes it."

"Judging from Drago's cloak, it doesn't seem to bother the other dragons under his command- or maybe they're just scared as hell," Hiccup shrugs his shoulder and begins his sketching, "In any case, I'll bring the designs to our most decorated master sewer and make him/her at least make a suit or an epaulet of dragon skin."

The blacksmith nodded and turned to the anvils again.

.

.

.

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Vanaheim

.

A chain of explosions rocked the trench were the Warriors Three are located, their armor holed and damaged, their weapons almost blunted and useless as the rest of the men under their command lay down bleeding inside holes on the ground. Sounds of long-range fire and screams of the dying could be heard as the Asgardians looked up into the bleak night sky.

"Well, this is depressing," Fandral said as he took a small bite off a piece of bread, "Worse of all is we have this muck from Alfheim to sustain us."

Hogun grunted in reply as Volstagg grabbed two of the dry loaves and bites into them enthusiastically, "I don't know, it is kind of good you know?"

"My friend, you shall eat everything that is put in front of you, provided of course it is edible."

The sound of battle seemed to intensify as a horn blast came through the din, lightning bolts rained from the sky and yet their enemy doesn't seem to let up in their attacks. The campaign of Alfheim erupted into a full-blown war with many realms taking sides. Asgard leading on the other, while a mixture of Dark Elves, Frost Giants, demons, including evil men taking the other. Regrettably, being Asgard and upholder of balance and justice to all, all conflicts that erupted they have to pacify them one by one. Sometimes, a great God accompanies them, like in Alfheim where Lord Thor, Loki and to a certain extent, Lord Bor came to assist them.

But the Vanaheim Campaign effectively tied their hands together, as part of the subjugation of this realm, no God from Asgard may step into Vanaheim, and no Vanaheim God may come to Asgard. As such, Njord, leader of the Vanir Gods, took command of the force that the Eternal Realm seconded to them, but so far, the leader of the Vanaheim Gods seemed to lack the finesse and battlefield leadership that the Asgardians are so famous of.

"We are so fucked up in the command department-"

"Tell me about it, the magnanimous Njord didn't even know how to fight with an army, let alone manage a legion of the Golden Army. He led us straight into the most defensible and nigh unassailable part of the fort, he led us into a freaking _SWAMP_! "

"This is bullshit!"

"Good news is that I received word from Vanir Command that Lord Heimdall would be sending a detachment of the 1st Legion, about 20,000 Dark Angels to push forth and hopefully end the stalemate- god forbid they are also seconded to the Vanir Gods."

Hogun frowned and looked up to the top of the trenches, "Blast this stalemate, they're coming!"

Fandral and Volstagg engaged their energy shields and imbued magic in their weapons, their blades glowed as the enemy came into view.

"Terrific, more of the same enemy-"

"Frost Giants huh, a chilly death it is," Hogun said grimly as his morning star deployed more spikes, "For Asgard my friends!"

A wall of Frost Giants were leaping over trenches, trampling over fortifications, and charging them mercilessly. It seemed an unstoppable blue tide came rushing down from them as the tempo of the battle shifted towards their enemy. From their static positions at the forward front lines, the Warriors Three led the charge towards the last hill that is defending the icy Fort in the distance.

From the heavens a shower of rainbow light came down upon them dislodging more troops from the fabled 1st Legion of the Asgardian Army. Swords bent and axes blunted, shields broken and lives extinguished, for half a day the front lines shifted, yet the Warrior's Three kept their ground and finally took the hill with quite the casualties upon them. The screams of the dying never abated while the sound of clashing metal and spells blowing and showering around them continued without pause. The once lush ground that harbored only great things for the trees that occupied them only have blood as it flows out from the wound of the dead combatants, the whole hill went black as the blood of the dying came gushing as the day long battle soaked the top soil and buried the dead in their own blackened grave. Wet soil, decomposing bodies, dried blood, burnt carcasses, no words could describe the awful smell that permeates the battlefield.

Horrifying as it would have looked, it was all part of a plan. A plan set in motion by an enemy unknown yet to all who have dared fight the darkness.

The wave of Frost Giants finally broke and fought a running withdrawal towards their front lines. Their push was blunted by the Warriors Three as they also retreated to the top of the hill on the bunker that they have fortified recently. The three walked inside as their soldiers also hunkered down around them, exhausted at the seesaw like motion of the battle that's been going on for days.

Hogun gasped, his breathing labored as he sat down on the ground, exhausted beyond his reckoning, an arrow made from ice he easily plucked out from his armor, "I haven't been this tired since the Alfheim Campaign."

"True," Volstagg took a canteen and poured the contents on his lips, "This is probably the worst time that I have been into battle."

"Not really, remember the Campaign at Hel? And then the Swamps of Andorhal, oh yes, Nargothrond."

"Very well then!" the largest of the three exclaimed, putting a dressing cloth on one of his wounds, "ONE of the worst times then I have been into battle."

Fandral shook his head as Hogun and Volstagg began arguing again, the battle lines were set for now it seems and the reinforcements should be coming any moment now. Its best they get some shuteye to recuperate for the coming confrontation, in any case-

_"VOLSTAGG!"_

The addressed warrior suddenly stood up and saluted to no one in particular.

"What's wrong with you?" Fandral asked him with concern, "Feel like saluting in the air for no reason?"

"Strange," he scratched his head sheepishly, "I thought I heard Lord Thor's voice?"

_"You got that right!"_

"I heard that too."

_"Listen all of you, Heimdall is concentrating on the three of you right now, you all need to listen quickly... or your heads might bursts from too much of his concentration. "_

"What the?! You're telling us that right now!?"

_"Get a grip! Heimdall is trying to lessen his concentration on behalf of your demise so be thankful when you see him."_

"Of course my Lord, you have news of the other rebellion?"

_"Same as what you're dealing with here. Now what I am about to tell you must not reach the knowledge of the Vanirs, listen well you Three. You are tasked to find any traces of the 'Key'. My father, Lord Odin, recently learned of the compromised seals on the Nidhogg's prison. With the tide of war slowly spreading into the Nine Realms, my brother conveniently vanished into nothingness and the deployment of the Warriors Three and the 'shadow force' of Asgard was somehow tampered with by someone unknown to us... we're looking into it right now and all I can tell you is that father is furious."_

"But the direct line between the directive and decision making is only among Lord Heimdall and Lord Odin!" Fandral exclaimed, "Who could have gone in between them? Only a wizard or spell-caster of such great power and skill can- wait, oh my stars, what level of wizardry is Lord Loki at?"

_"Now you see how dire it is? Now, listen and go finish this affair in 1 week... father approved sending the 1st Legion and do not squander them, they are not seconded to the Vanir-"_

"Oh thank god! Their battle tactics are so abysmal!"

_"Behave yourselves then, I'll see you in a week."_

The proud voice of Lord Thor left their senses as all Three looked at each other and smiled. Oh dear, just what did Lord Loki do now.

.

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Uglithug Flagship

.

"FIRE! FIRE! THERE'S FIRE!"

"Form a bucket brigade! Take out the pumps! Shore up the untouched decks! Secure the weapons!"

The alarm of the flagship rang ceaselessly as the secret flotilla of the Uglithugs is now on the 2nd leg of their journey towards their objective. With a hundred strong ships coming from the Meatheads and the Uglithugs combined fleet, if they would be compared to Drago's, a close match it would have been considering this fleet is as numerous as the eye can see while the Dragon Warlord had his Bewilderbeast thrown into the fray.

But, a new threat held up the fleet and now their flagship is under attack from an unknown enemy. The ship, similar to a Roman Trireme and had three decks were filled with soldiers running around like a disturbed ant colony. Already numerous fires engulfed the lower decks as the top most deck held Ug and his elite soldiers, his bosun and Lieutenants close by.

"What happened? Where are the weapons!?"

"Chief Ug, there was an unexplained explosion before the fire began-"

"-BOSUN! Here! Now!" a man with a scar running down his face came forward, he looked like an old sailor, or in their language, an old sea dog. "Find the cause of the fire and bring me his head on a pike!"

"Aye Chief!" the brutal looking man snapped his whip as if making his point known.

Ug's anger was terrible to behold yet he looked left and right and saw the controlled chaos of the people around him. There were sailors dousing the fire, a few soldiers hauling out the black powder they acquired from some Eastern peddler boat, and some soldiers carrying dead bodies of those probably snuffed out by the flames.

This is a nightmare, he thought, why the Hell would they experience this now. From their home island, no storm, nor bad fortune seemed to assail them. But now, as they neared the Berkian Archipelago, first the spoiled or poisoned food, then the missing/dead soldiers on the shore leave they had, and now this incessant deck fires. It seemed like a systematic attack on his flotilla.

How can it be? Were they penetrated already by their enemies? Were there spies? Saboteurs? Berkians? But who?

Another blast from below them rocked the flagship on its hull, picking themselves up quickly on the blast that knocked them off their feet. Chief Ug saw something fall down in front of them and stared at the object with surprise and concealed horror.

The old sea dog's eyes were lifeless as it looked back at him from where it landed on the deck floor. Lopped off from its neck, the Chief Bosun's head stared back at him with its eyes wide open.

They were under attack then- son of a bitch!

"ASSASSI-" the deck hand guard was cut off mid scream as a trench knife was easily passed on his throat, slicing his jugular and his blood gushing out of it.

Ug's eyes went wide as he saw the cloaked attackers heading for him, immediately the Vikings around him, his bodyguard and also his kin formed ranks and blocked the approaching group of cloaked men.

Kaldr strode purposely flanked by two of his men, "Givrola to the left, Mathuran take my right... Rael, deploy smoke. NOW!"

Smoke billowed from massive explosions as the calm seas offered no wind to dislodge the suffocating mass on the top deck of the ship. The blazing fire also contributed and it also added to the confusion of the battle. Only those closest to the Chief were aware of the situation as the distraction provided by the deck fires effectively made all spare deckhands and soldiers attend to the more pressing matters of their ship from sustaining heavy fire damage. As such, the Dark Elven assassins did their grisly work unimpeded.

Givrola, a man hidden behind a mask made of human skulls crouched down and ran towards the waiting enemy, armed with only two trench knives, he was the one that cut down the deck hand ringing the bell seconds ago. He wore no armor on his upper body, yet the scars and overall sight of him moving nimbly amidst the numerous weapons arrayed against him is impressive enough to make you halt and think first before engaging him.

Mathuran, another man or rather a Dark Elf hidden behind by a simple scarf on the face wielded a spear shaped like a crescent moon. It's sides more curved to nimbly take the parry of a sword and also to make it heavier. He also wore no armor on his upper body, except for a simple leather gloves and a tunic made from an unknown material. His movements were fast and steady, while Givrola moved much quicker and his attacks unorthodox to all who fought him.

The smoke silhouetted them, but Ug could not shake the cold dread creeping its way on his back. Screams as the sound of tearing flesh and ruptured veins reached their ears as more and more of their soldiers fell.

Master Kaldr shouted as two enemies came forward, "You're in the WAY!"

A flash of light and the Master easily sliced the two enemies in the middle. Their lifeless forms flopped down on the wooden deck as the rest continued forward, both their bodies sliced in half and flopped uselessly on the deck. The fury of the White Hands could not be denied as they cut down their enemies and made a path for their magnanimous leader. Every enemy that dared approach and get in between them and their target were sliced, stabbed, and hit mercilessly. Their cries of mercy from their numerous kills were unheeded as they continued the slaughter of their enemy quickly and efficiently

Ug's mind raced double time, maybe he could buy his way out, is this threat sent by the Coalition? Impossible, they had a deal!

This thoughts flashed into his mind as the leader of their enemy popped out of the smoke, the Chief of the Uglithugs drew his sword, but a second too late. Again, as Master Kaldr moved his hand something bright flashed in a wayward light.

There was no pain at all, just a dull throbbing sensation on his neck. Something didn't felt right since he saw that his vision got blurry and also tumbling down. His vision refocused as he stopped moving and saw his now headless body kneel down on the wooden deck as Ug, now the former Chief of the Uglithugs, looks upon his own body from his dying and decapitated head.

Fire on their target's eyes were finally extinguished as Rael, the last member of the Dark Elves stepped away from the smoke and picked up the severed head of Ug the Uglithug. He puts it quickly inside a silken bag and looks up to the three Dark Elves now standing beside him, a circle of dead bodies and pools of blood were all around them.

"Rael, record our kill-" Kaldr drew his sword and inspected the blade, satisfied that there were no blood marks he re-sheaths his sword and turned to his two men, "Prepare for exfiltration, we rally at our agreed checkpoint and proceed from there."

The flagship still burned as the soldiers and sailors tried putting out the fires, little did they know that the leader of the invasion force, the Chief of the Uglithugs lay on the top deck with his personal guards, decapitated and missing its head. It would be a few more hours before they were able to know what happened to them.

From a nearby ship, Grug, the cousin of Ug the Uglithug stared at the carnage from the other ship. His loyal retinue stood around him as his second in command leaned down on him.

"Shall we turn the ships now Chief?"

The new Chieftain of the Uglithugs nods and offered a silent prayer to the Gods.

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**To be continued...**

**Author's note:**

Okay! Another update! Slow and steady wins the race! All unknown words, please Google it.

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Cheers,

Scarabeye3000


	26. Chapter 26

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**Shout out to, SMr. Freeze****, The Viking Stranger, dracologistmaster, jlghighlander, **for their signed reviews.

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**Disclaimer: Any characters mentioned are all under copyright. This work is purely fan-made.**

**Title: From Asgard to Midgard**

**Author: Scarabeye 3000**

**Chapter 26: _'Will this be the hour?'_**

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Barbaric Archipelago: Meathead Island

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The island of the Meatheads buzzed with excitement as their port bristled with mast and yawning shapes of dragon-like figureheads snarled at an unseen enemy as the Berkian invasion force of Meatheads that was demanded by the Uglithugs sailed into their harbor within a day of meeting the flotilla. It was odd, but the news and tidbits of information trickling down to the local taverns and marketplace is that there was a power struggle within the Uglithugs and now their Chief Ug is not Chief anymore. Rumor also has it that he has been killed after his own flagship, the roman trireme '_Scowl-faced Cunt', _burned under mysterious circumstances on the midway towards Berk.

Whatever it was, it seems that Ug had truly died and was replaced by the next in line. His cousin, soft queer-like Grug, but so far after the untimely death of his cousin, well, his clan had no choice. He quickly took full rein of the flotilla, captured all the Captains that have dared not to follow his orders and executed them all in front of the gathered throng of ships. His decision of returning back to the island was met with welcomed nods of the head. Primary reason is that the two clans didn't really want clashing with Berk now seeing that their main army consisted not just of its Navy, but also it's air force or Dragon Army.

Confirmed stories have circulated about the enemy and not many Vikings were willing to fight other Vikings on dragon back, probably on horseback, but not on dragon back.

Long ships that came back from being sequestered by the Coalition rejoiced as families were reunited. Supplies were finally returned to normal as the unscheduled skirmish put a nasty strain on the coffers on each and every Clan involved. Aside from the Meatheads having their own trading post, they also have their own tavern to cater to those thirsty people.

Shoulders rubbed against each other as the tavern was filled to capacity. Even Trader Johann was there and other people who were just passing through the normal shipping lines.

"I heard that the Berkian Chieftain, Stoick the Vast has his own dragon now."

"Did he now? I thought he was against the Dragon Scourge? He's one of the best killer of dragons isn't he?"

"Not anymore, apparently he had a change of heart after having his son tame a 'Night Fury'."

"What?! One of those 'sorts' of dragons eh?"

"Aye, and not only that- ever since the young man managed to get a dragon, then his whole village soon followed. Had their own Dragons mind you."

"Any problems so far? Burned stuff and all that?"

"Not that I heard of, they're getting all the raw materials they need for expansion because the dragons could carry immense loads- I also heard their mining is really good and making such great ores from their dragons."

"That's for sure, I mean you could ask Johann-" the villager pointed to the merchantman sitting on the corner, "-he's the one selling their trinkets I hear."

"Does he now- eh!? Is that sword a gilded one?" another villager grunted, "Those look like its made by jewelers! Who's their artificer?"

"The son of Stoick himself is their artificer... Hiccup I think is his name, an apprentice of Gobber the Belch."

"That name seems to spread faster everyday eh?"

"Aye, remember who took down the Dragon Warlord- rumor has it that it was someone riding a Night Fury, some say his chair got too high that the Gods decided to punish his ass. Anyways, he's crazy as hell that Drago Bludvist."

The rumble of chatter continued, their stories all absorbed by a man covered by a hood. His face hidden from view as he toyed with his ale. Beside him, three others looked apprehensively as their de-facto leader gestures with a nod and headed for the bartender. Producing a silver coin he paid for their tab and quickly exited the warm building. Outside, many people milled around and going about their day, the four hooded men headed for the docks as the Meatheads rejoiced at the disbandment of the war host sailing for Berk.

A small boat, like a cruiser or schooner with twin enveloping sails on the port and starboard sides lie with their sails folded on the main curving mast. The leader of the group of men walked towards the gangplank and was welcomed by a dark haired man with a scarf tied on his head.

"Any news?"

"They speak of his name in whispers and yet they are not so sure."

"Wow, isn't that quite contradictory?"

The leader of the four men removed his hood and revealed a man with long black hair, facial tattoo on his jaw that looked like blue fangs on him. His face had a roguish tint to it, and a somewhat cocky and cavalier attitude on him. Wearing a fur tunic that covered his muscular body, he shook his head and said, "Who ever this Hiccup is, he just got us out of business. With Drago gone, all we can do now is sell our dragons to the nobles beyond our seas."

"Shall we go to England then?"

"Tch! We'll be clapped in irons the moment they saw barbarian faces- those frakking ass wipers, and their noble personality... no, we should meet this Hiccup instead."

"And then what?"

"I don't know yet," he turned back to his men and ordered the ship to be on its way. "-but mark my words, I, Eret son of Eret will meet this Hiccup and see for myself if he is truly remarkable as he is."

"Well, he did kill Drago-"

"-we're not sure of that. Plus, we're pirates now because of him!"

A sailor shrugged his shoulders and said, "I don't know boss, but I kind of like being a pirate."

"I don't want to keep looking over my shoulder forever! I'll meet this Hiccup and see if he's really the man that the masses are preaching him to be."

"Bosun! Wake up the rest of the crew! Set a course for Berk! Full sails all the way!"

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Vanaheim

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Hogun loosened the coif on his chain shirt, it had been weeks since he removed his armor and the heavy plating above it penetrated his already frayed leather tunic. Crusted blood and ichor were inserted here and there and the armor was itself filthy beyond measure. The only washing it seemed to have endured was the occasional rain of the swampy landscape of the ever expansive tundra and forest that is the home of the Vanir Gods. The bunker that they were defending a while ago was finally reinforced and the front line moved towards the last few hamlets and villages. The last enemy stronghold would be surrounded today and the reinforcements from Asgard would also come later.

Fandral was at the healing grounds for failing to block a spiked mace to the chest, the spikes nearly struck his heart, but thankfully, managed only to puncture one of his lungs. Volstagg sat across from him as he also took off his armor.

Like him, his armor had seen better days. Cracked, frayed, and pierced numerous times by enemy attacks. The stout warrior weathered such brutal fighting and took it in stride. Thinking back from the start of the hostilities, he had lost his sword in the mud a couple of weeks ago, only to have it almost impale him as an enemy managed to scavenge it on no-mans land. Their bodies a menagerie of numerous scars, wounds and stitches, as they proudly, but silently declared of the blood they have spilled in the name of Peace and Justice.

"How is Fandral's condition?" Hogun hissed as he painfully peeled away the chain armor now digging on his skin, it was bleeding a bit, like a cilice was stretched upon it. But in truth, the time he spent wearing it could not be dismissed as the metal dug deep into his skin, "Next time we should fight without armor, it just digs into the skin- oh dear gods, it fucking stings!"

Volstagg hands shook as he removed his frayed gloves, there were numerous holes on it, a sign of excessive wear and tear as they continued fighting non-stop. He could only shake his head in anticipation of the pain as he dipped his shaking hands in cold river water, "Oh my gosh, that hit the spot perfectly- oww, my blisters!"

They were in the middle of tending to their wounds when a full-plated green and gold colored man approached them. Wielding a simple two edged sword he looked at the two Warriors and bowed.

"Commanders Hogun and Volstagg, I bring word from Asgard-"

Both nodded as the soldier continued, "-Lord Thor wishes you back to the Eternal Realm at once. With the rebels routed and ejected from their strongholds Captains Ezekiel, Berial, and Marir would continue the cleansing of this Realm and rooting of all remaining forces of the enemy. Together in joint action with the Vanir Army-"

"God forbid," Volstagg blustered, "Not them again."

"Don't fear my lords, we of the Dark Angels bow to no one aside from Asgardians-" another soldier, this time fully plated with a cape flowing on his back stepped inside the tent, medals and insignia adorned his breastplate "-of course, the Vanir are not the Aesir so they won't get to kick us around like you of course."

"Ezekiel! You little whelp! I haven't seen you in a hundred years! Literally!" Volstagg slapped the younger looking man on the shoulders and almost winced, aside from the hard solid build, and the full plate of armor. Captain Ezekiel was a veteran of more than a millenia of wars participated in by Asgard. He had cropped hair that's almost non-existent yet his face held a vibrant aura, almost welcoming and endearing to the beholder. However, his demeanor hid a strength and power underneath all of it, ready to explode in a moments notice, "I thought you would be under the Vanir- I really don't want you charging foolishly into a swamp."

"Agreed Commander Volstagg, that is actually one of the most hated things I need to do in war- so far, Lord Odin has instructed us to just collapse the Jotun portal and to root out all the remaining enemy who might have gone underground. Sometimes literally."

"That's comforting."

"I know, what you need to handle though is much grittier-" Ezekiel approached and whispered into his ear, "-I know Lord Heimdall hates gossip, but the Legions of course talks to each other especially the officers-"

"Who wouldn't right?"

"Exactly. Now, word is Lord Loki is missing- and the _Golden Einherjars_ also spoke of the evil buried beneath Asgard. So, you should take care of yourselves Commanders."

Hogun approached and puts a bandaged hand on the Dark Angel, "Hush now, you tread on words you should not utter- if in the course of your duties here you are bound to cross swords with your peers. Remember my words- _The All-Father Protects._"

_"The All-Father Protects."_

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A few more hours passed after their meeting, with Fandral already standing up and limping as the Warrior's Three headed for the Bifrost Site, behind them came the wounded of the Asgardian Army. A long line of tired warriors, wounded, some missing limbs, but most sported bandages on different parts of their bodies. Others traveled by stretcher carried by those still able to, some where loaded to carts, while the dead are put on makeshift body bags and loaded also on the carts. Wounded and still proud, the Vanaheim Campaign adds yet another saga to the exploits of the Asgardians. With the Vanaheim War drawing to a close, and their enemies routed so far, the scattered remnants of the Jotunheim Invasion force retreated deeper into the mountains where discontent festered beneath the eyes of Njord.

Volstagg carried all their wargear, or whatever is the semblance of it on his pack while Hogun assisted Fandral.

"Where're your Dryads now huh? Shouldn't they be carrying your wounded butt around instead of me?"

Fandral bristled a little at that jibe from their stoic friend, "You're lucky my sword is out of reach- I should poke you in the arse."

"If only you could have blocked that last attack huh?"

"Bugger. Any word from Asgard?"

"The Dark Angels are rooting the rest of the enemy to the ground together with the Vanir Army, and they are somehow independent of the Vanir Host-"

"-oh thank god, free from idiocy at last. What else?"

"Thor awaits us- I think he means us to pursue the White Hands at Midgard."

Volstagg's mouth dropped open and he looked dumbly at the two, "You mean to tell me we pursue the White Hands and then see if Loki is with them?"

Hogun shrugged his shoulders, "As far as I can see that's what all this maneuver and talk is coming down to. Aside from that, it seems Lord Loki had a hand with the compromised seals in the chambers of the Nidhogg."

The winds finally begin to pick up as the banners that hung lazily awhile ago now fluttered excitedly in the air. A rainbow of light from atop a hill is visibly hurling shadows up into the sky as it absorbed the coming influx of the wounded. The Warrior's Three were silent as the rainbow bridge beckoned them back to the Eternal Realm. It seemed odd though, from one resolved world conflict, they would go back to recuperate and heal, then plunge on to the next one.

No respite for a life that knows an eternity of war.

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Kingdom of Danes

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Six Spanish galleons with full sails courtesy of the Spanish Crown cuts laboriously through water as the high seas and frigid winds did its wonder to the somewhat clumsy vessel. Designed primarily as the main naval ship of Spain, it nonetheless flew the flag of the Papal States with its two keys made of silver and gold crossed over the other on a backdrop of white and yellow. Sailors and soldiers wore thick woolen clothing as the frigid landscape of the North bit on each and every one as they all worked the ship to its paces. The land known to the _'modern world' _as Norway sat on the fringes of the North and Europe itself. Just above the Kingdoms of England, Norway, Sweden and Denmark are united under the banner of Johannes II. Under his rule the barbarians of the North are typically cut off from the rest of the world as their own kingdom flourished under his rule. The state religion is of course Roman Catholic, which replaced the old faith of sagas to Norse Pagan Gods.

Odin Allfather is now known as God the Father.

Thor Odinson is now known as Jesus Christ.

Such were the changes of modern times, the old are swept away while the new takes over precedence. It is for this exact reason that the ships of the Inquisition docked to the Norway lands. From the bustling port city of Bergen the ships docked in quick order as an important looking man descended from the gangway and was greeted by an official looking man flanked by soldiers.

"His Majesty has waited long enough for you."

"My deepest apologies, we were delayed by a storm off the Dover Coast."

The official humphed and walked towards the waiting carriages, "His Majesty has waited on _Sverresborg Castle_ for two days since his arrival to make sure that the officials of the Vatican are welcomed warmly into our shores."

"Truly his Majesty is gracious and venerable in his treatment of us. We would forward his generosity to the Holy Father."

A total of six men accompanied the official as the carriages moved forward towards the Castle. Bergen, a bustling port city that is the gateway of Norway towards Denmark, Germany, Austria, and the rest of Europe stood on the precipice of a new winter. Its old stone church stood defiantly on the center of this port city as the guest from the Vatican are whisked away towards the Castle.

They reached the castle with no fanfare as they were quickly ushered inside the main halls. Stepping inside the official banged his staff on the ground, announced their arrival and turned back to them.

"Wait here as I call on the King."

Uniformed in all black cassocks, the Inquisitor bowed respectfully and walks over to the fire place. Withdrawing his hands from inside his cassocks, he props it on the fire to catch the heat as he sighed in contentment, his retinue stood beside him looking idly at the decoration of the halls.

"You seem cold your Eminence?"

"True," the old man in priestly garments sighed, "- but these old bones can carry yet the works of God even to this borderline Orthodox heathens."

"Weren't these Norwegians the ones who worshiped the Church of Odin before?"

"Indeed, in the 5th to 6th century AD records from the Officio Administratum label this as the dark world."

"5th century? The Dark Ages?"

The old man sighed and nodded, "Yes, the Holy See somehow scrounged the documents from captured raiding Norsemen- even to some infidels we managed to capture."

"It seems then that the House of Oldenburg managed to stymie the spread of this heretical-

The herald of the King appeared once more and struck his staff on the ground eliciting a loud noise making all present their towards him.

"His Majesty, _Johan II,_ _King of Denmark, Sweden, Norway, the Wends and the Goths, Duke of Schleswig, Holstein, Stormarn and Dithmarschen, Count of Oldenburg and Delmenhorst! King of the Kalmar Union!" _

The courtier announced as an old man in complete black cassocks and wide black hat strode forwards and offers his hand to King Johannes II. The wizened king, barely out of his 40's stood up and walked down to the eye level of the priest. He looked like a priest in all the court's eyes, but suddenly Johannes II took the offered hand and shook it strongly. The retinue of the old priest finally took off his robes and it revealed the red sash of a Cardinal.

Looking closely though the buttons of the supposed Dominican Friar seemed silver instead of white buttons, while the silken sash that he wore on his thin waist gave the desired effects of his office. To sacrifice his own blood in defense of his church, the adjutant of the Cardinal took off his cap and finally revealed the person standing before them.

With a red zuccheto worn over his priestly wide brimmed hat, the old Cardinal bowed and the rosetta on his sash screamed authority at everyone inside the King's Court. The rosetta was a highly stylized 'I', with a skull on the middle and three rings crossing its sides, from the top a sword pierced the top of the 'I' and from the bottom of the letter, thorns seemed to envelope the rosetta from below, while a silver gnarled cross hung just beside it.

"Greetings your Majesty, it is with great pleasure to finally arrive at your wondrous realm-" the raspy voice of the Cardinal reached them and chills crawled all over their skin, "-my name is Tomas Torquemada, Lord Inquisitor of the Holy See itself. My retinue of 300 Black Guards should be of no problem to stay is it?"

"But your Eminence-" King Hans properly used the title of the Cardinal, "-I could provide you with the most effective guards that you can find. Even veteran Varangian Guards if you will it."

"I appreciate the offer your Highness, but the Holy See imbibed upon me the importance of not inconveniencing you too much, hence the Black Guards."

Hans scoffed at that, "Rubbish, the Holy See would find that the realm under my rule adheres to the religion of the State. Though I heard that beyond the borders, some called themselves Orthodox Catholic- I have not received much news about it, but the Northern Lands seemed to practice it together with their pagan Gods."

"Indeed," if that statement ruffled his feathers he did not show, "For now your Highness, I must take my leave- there is much to prepare and our troops must settle down."

"I must ask though before you leave your Eminence," Hans puts a hand on the Cardinal's shoulder and almost whispered, "Will your Black Guards be armed?"

Torquemada smiled at that, "I was hoping you would provide us with some weapons we could use- in case the natives become restless on the proceedings of the Inquisition."

"I understand, weapons shall be provided to those who would require it."

Cardinal Tomas bowed and said softly, "Your cooperation is most kind- the 'gift' would arrive in a week, I hope you find it satisfactory."

"I'm sure I will," Hans looked on as the Cardinal, together with his adjutant walked out of his court. Truly, just for their priest to sniff around and check if the faithful is being faithful and also being paid in the process. Who would not want arrangements like that? He could count the gold already.

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Berk

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The blonde girl closed her eyes as she concentrated on her surroundings. With a blindfold ordered by Portio, she focused her other senses to find out the location of her enemy. For now, their instructor paired them into teams and ordered them to spar. For a long time since they began their training Astrid wanted to find out what she can actually do at least. Gone were the days when she could recklessly charged in with her axe over her head, screaming bloody murder or any expletives at her enemy. Instead she reaches for her axe quickly and efficiently, she conserve her energy now so she could rely on it later.

Master Portio, continuously drilled into her that fighting with brute strength alone does not solve everything. He also pointed out that being a girl or a young woman, she could never overpower a man who is absolutely determined to hurt her. He also taught her that being a woman, she is physically inferior in regards to test of strength.

Granted, her spirit, heart and courage could not be undone. But the physical is still the material, and the physical is the one that holds up her axe. Given ample time in training she could wield the heavy weapon effectively, her body automatically adjusting to the rigors of carrying such a weapon.

But for how long?

Stamina wise she could probably exceed Tuffnut and Snotlout combined, however, Snot doesn't use as much strength using her weapon. The strain on his body is almost non-existent, but on her with time the axe just gets heavier and heavier. And so he taught her how to fight explosively.

Her sparring partner today was Tuffnut, and he carried a shield and sword combination with him. Normally, he wouldn't win against her, but Master Portio deemed it necessary for them to master their other senses. Hence, the exercise of _'feeling' _for their enemy. Snotlout had Fishlegs, while Ruffnut had Camicazi.

"Alright, pay attention all of you-" Portio's eyes sweep the arena as the three groups, "Astrid, Snotlout, Camicazi- the three of you would need to learn how to use your hearing, your sense of touch, even your smell to find out where your sparring partner is."

"Oh, oh I know where Fishlegs is!"

"Huh?"

"I can smell last night's dinner over there-" Snotlout pointed on his sparring mate's general direction, "-pickled black cod and spotted dick."

"VERY FUNNY!"

"Alright, that's enough!" Portio shook his head in disbelief, "Now, Fish, Ruff and Tuff attack your sparring mates now!"

**THUD!**

**THUD!**

**KLANG!**

"Very good Astrid!" Master Portio said as he approached the blonde girl and a wide-eyed Tuffnut. Camicazi and Snotlout were rubbing the sore spot on their foreheads as the wooden blunt practice weapons smacked them cleanly courtesy of their sparring mates.

"How in the world did you do that Astrid?"

Her eyes widened as she saw her weapon blocking perfectly Ruff's own. They gathered around her as their teacher nodded approvingly. She really didn't know exactly what happened, she just instinctively moved on her own. The scent of her sparring mate, the sound of the air compressing on the weapon as it was swung, the hair on her body stood on end at the sixth sense-like feeling she had as the blow came for her. All of it she felt and simultaneously moved independently, nothing could have prepared her for the sensations that coursed through her body.

"I- I think I sensed her, in a manner of speaking."

With her sight robbed from her, her ears picked up more quickly, her nose caught Ruff's scent of Zippleback gas, and as her enemy swung she knew that Ruff favored coming from the right. So, she was able to block it and be successful in the exercise.

"Very good Astrid," Portio smiled at that, "Remember, every enemy can be sensed. Because every enemy has a particular scent, every enemy has a move so particular to them it just pains me to see their pattern-"

"Except when its the White Hands huh?"

All the Berkians and their teacher turned to the speaker, he had a peg-leg and a black dragon stood by his side.

"Hiccup! You're alright!" all his friends gathered around them as he walked towards them. He was carrying rucksack and as he shifted it on his shoulder, the distinct sound of metal clanging together reached their ears.

"What's that you're carrying?"

He tipped the contents of the bag and out came a small sword and a rather large kite shield, also a short spear thudded to the ground together with what seemed like a large plated gauntlet.

"Ruffnut take the sword and shield, Tuff take the spear and gauntlet."

Eagerly they took their weapons from the rucksack and it shone in the sun.

The spear looked like nothing they've ever seen so far, it was 6 or 7 ft long, the spear tip seemed hewn from the handle itself.

"Is the handle- I mean, is it part of the spear?"

"Yes," Hiccup smiled as Tuffnut noticed, "As you know, a spear to be able to wield properly should be heavy at the tip and light at the shaft. But this one is different- why don't you try it around?"

The male of the Thornston shrugged his shoulders and began to spun it, he went to the paces of his training with Master Portio looking on. He was surprised at the weight of the spear itself, it was heavy at the tip it was expected, but the shaft was also heavy. Surprisingly, the over-all weight did not offset his balance, nor did it hamper his movements. Offensively, he could see himself holding off enemies with this weapon, the thrust of the tip was fluid and it didn't shake so much, on the contrary it was almost rigid. Noticeably though are the six holes dotting the whole spear tip itself. He finally stood straight and turned at Hiccup with a sly smile.

"What did you do?"

The Heir of Berk smiled and approached, he touched a section of the shaft and it opened a small hole in the spear shaft itself. In close scrutiny, the shaft was actually hollow inside.

"Why is it hollow? So that's why it's so freakishly light!" Tuff exclaimed, "And how did you manage to make it hollow and not break it in half!?"

"Trade secrets," Hiccup smiled as he took the spear and inserted a small canister inside the hollowed tube, "Now stand back."

Pulling back a small section of the spear shaft, the four holes near the tip began to slowly spew out dragon breath. The twins had their brows furrowed as they smelled their dragon's gas, which had a very familiar twinge in it, leak out of the holes. Hiccup then stepped back five paces and began spinning the spear, as he spun it, he held a specific portion of the shaft and as he reached the apex of the spin of the weapon it somehow ignited and all around him where the dragon gas escaped he was encircled with a trail of flame.

The Riders reared back, with Hiccup heading for the test dummy that Tuff was stabbing a while ago. They heard clicking noises coming from the weapon and as the Heir of Berk thrusts the weapon and impaled the dummy, the dragon gas gushed forth and exploded on contact.

A maniacal smile spreads over Tuff's lips as he saw the capabilities of his new weapon.

Hiccup rested the spear on his shoulder as he approached, "You can let the dragon gas escape and just detonate it later to make an effective defensive circle around you or you can set it to detonate upon every thrust that you make."

"How does it do that?"

"See the spear tip, where it usually end?" he pointed to the end of the bladed part of the tip and Tuff saw it had four pegs that stick out on the side, it was totally inconspicuous and it looked more like designs for the blade than the actual triggering mechanism, "I put in carefully chiseled flint rocks so that whenever the four points are disturbed, there would be sparks that would ignite the gas inside."

"Where did you get the blasting gas?" the male of the twins asked excitedly, "What if I run out!?"

Hiccup smiled and gave him five more canisters, "You know that Zipplebacks gargle up their gas right if you rub them the right way? Well, just rub Barf or Belch and I'm sure it'll come."

"What about mine?" Ruffnut approached, her obvious excitement unconcealed in her voice, "Does my sword do the same?"

"Pretty much, you have to practice to figure it out-" he smiled and handed her six canisters of her own, "It functions the same way as my _'Inferno'_ where you put the canisters at the end of the pommel, but instead of just spewing out gas, it just blows just like Tuff's spear."

"That's so cool!"

As everyone converged and began scrutinizing the new weapons, Portio approached Hiccup as Astrid looked over at them.

"You look stiff Hiccup?"

"I am stiff-" he rolled his shoulders in emphasis as he sighed heavily, "It doesn't hurt now as much as it was before, but the stiffness is still there- I don't even know how I would fare against someone right now."

"These five would probably get a hit or two on you now."

The Heir smiled, "I wish to be surprised when they are already ready."

"Well, we do have methods to measure your abilities if its the case," Portio shrugged, "Would you like to know if you have recovered the full movement of your arms and legs?"

Hiccup nods his head as Master Portio grinned and took a black crystal out of his tunic pocket and puts it on the ground. Murmuring a spell in his old language, the crystal noticeably glowed and it spew out a dark miasma. Worried, the Riders of Berk began to step forward to protect him, but their teacher's stare made them all stop.

The miasma slowly formed into a humanoid shape and it stood tall and lanky in front of the Heir.

"What is that?"

"That Snotlout, is a doppelganger- a sentient shadow that takes on the form of any adversary that you wished."

The shadow steadily grew to the size of a normal human male, all the Riders of Berk looked on as it solidified into a black mass and then stood up. Its eyes looking at them, shifting its gaze left and right.

**_"Welcome to the Doppler Program- what do you require?"_**

Portio approached and the shadow mass turned its gaze on him, "Hiccup Haddock requires physical training, and locomotion assistance evaluation. Initiate program for continue melee contact, hardened targets and full spectrum weapons."

**_"Affirmative,"_ **the shadow approached Hiccup and met his eyes, **_"On a scale of 1 to 10, how do you rate your physical requirements?"_**

"My skill level is at five at least before, probably a four for now since my body is all shot at-"

_**"Affirmative, do you wish to have a past opponent?"**_

"The 8-style swordsman of the Hellios Realm would be good, just on level 4 please."

**_"Affirmative, level 4, 8-blades style fighter of the Hellios Army."_**

The Doppelganger's shadowy body began to grow bulbous once more, it shaped itself quickly into a tall muscular humanoid being. Solidifying itself, it sprouted 8 blades that were on sheaths behind on a unique pack behind it. Astrid, Snot, Cami, Fish and the twins looked in wonder as the Doppel takes out the weapons. Their eyes widened that the shadow Doppel held it completely on its body.

It held the weapons in a unique manner, by using its right hand it held two, on its left it also held two, under the right armpit another is put, then on the other side of the left elbow firmly held in the curves of the forearm, on the mouth, and finally on the underneath of the knees.

"What the hell is that?"

Portio smiled and said, "The Hellios Army 8-blader is a unique soldier fielded by the realm of Hel. During the Pacification Wars, we managed to encroach on one of their fortresses, needless to say they came out to 'talk' with us. Extremely skilled, the Asgardian Army was delayed of the advance as 'we' concertedly tried to subjugate them."

"-and then what?"

"The White Hands engaged them, and we were surprised at their efficiency. They moved like us and I was almost killed at that battle."

**_"Doppler program- begin!"_**

Biting down their apprehension they saw the shadow crouched a bit as it used its left leg as a spring, Hiccup exploded into action. He drew his two swords in an _'X' _maneuver and met his enemy's blade with his own. The enemy was fast, it moved like a blur as it leaps towards Hiccup, the downward swing carried so much force they felt the reverberations of the blades from where they were standing, gawking at the display of skill.

"What the- they're using real blades!?" Astrid exclaimed.

"Of course," Portio said as a matter-of-factly, "Anything above level 3 skill should be considered war conditions."

"War conditions? My God, what kind of training has Hiccup been doing-"

The Doppel spun forward on its downward swing as it vaulted using its left hand, the swords held in it was thrown, not in any direction, but was rather made to spun in place. As the enemy moved its body to vault and roll, it grabbed the wayward blades into its armpits, elbows, or anything that a humanoid body can use to move or hold an object. Not that it held such things lightly, on the contrary, the blades are so sharp a simple stab could easily puncture lamellar and even plate armor. Hiccup retreated as he deflected and parried the deadly blows, the Doppelganger moved perfectly and efficiently. It moved fluidly and flowed with his moves, as soon as it got the two or three spinning blades in mid-air, the other blades continued to flow and the Heir of Berk deflected it expertly.

Clangs of blades as the two fighters kept dancing the ancient dance of battle.

Doppel swung a blade to the right, but the indirect pointed blades gives off an indecent range and unnatural angles to his attacks. It made attacking directly difficult and very hard to counter. Hiccup raised Agni to deflect and set the blade aflame at the contact, as the single blade burned, two other descended on him. It was like fighting a spinning pin cushion, with the pins pointed dangerously outward to the enemy. With every unbalanced strike, the Doppel would let go of the blade, then transfer it to another niche in its body.

It doesn't matter either way, as long as it can hold the pommel of a blade, either in the neck, the hips, even under the knees. It was all used and made maneuvering hard for Hiccup.

The Heir of Berk on the other hand was having a nagging pain on his old wound, the lost left leg stump was giving him a hard time finding his footing. Not that it was still wounded, on the contrary, every extremity he had felt burning. His arms were beginning to numb, his reflexes were still definitely shot-

Doppel spun and jumped down on him, the ground cracked as the heavy blow connected to the ground and missed him with bare inches to spare. Hiccup somersaulted backwards to gain some ground, he vaulted forward again and swung his own weapon left and right, his enemy guarded with odd angles of its sword. Still in mid-air he kicked Doppel with his right leg, using it for momentum he spun to the left and spun his twin swords towards the enemy.

"Damnation!"

The Doppel just swung in the force and spun his body along, dangerously it was exuding an unusual amount of blades and in this uneven fighting did Hiccup finally get hit.

A spray of blood came from his shoulders as one of the blades protruding from the shadowy pincushion grazed him deeply. Everybody gasped at the sight, they were almost used to the times when Hiccup seemed to just deflect and easily evade all attacks. But this training exercise proved that he was still human, regrettably, they are unable to still perform at his level and this thoughts dampened their already drenched spirits.

The enemy jumped and spun in mid-air, it attacked once more even before Hiccup could realign and catch his breathe. The downward blow he quickly parried with Agni, then as it landed they met again their blades in a slashing motion that spun the other three blades in mid-air.

"So confusing to see!" Tuff exclaimed, "I can't even see what's he's doing with the blades!"

"The enemy hits and parries normally like you would expect from a normal swordsman right?" all nods as Portio began instructing at the expense of Hiccup, "But the excessive use of swords is actually an innovative way to confuse and misdirect your enemy. By shifting the use of one sword to another, if you are fighting an enemy, it could easily confuse and make the target hesitate or leave him wide open. And only a few exceptional fighter has the ability to maintain the sight range of all eight blades and successfully defend against them."

"Utilizing its legs, arms and every niche in its body- it is able to strike at him from all sides and angles. To further improve the misdirection, a plethora of kicks and forms while in mid-air is also used by the enemy."

"It's like fighting a jester-" Camicazi interjected.

Portio turned to her and nods his head, "Very good observation, a more ample comparison one would be a juggler. In order to juggle eight blades is not a skill for the faint of heart and for someone who is mediocre in skill. Attacking and juggling at the same time requires inhuman reflexes and skill."

The Doppel swiped its feet and caught him on his bad leg, the enemy lied down and as Hiccup began to fall, his enemy locked his leg onto him and launched him upwards into the air. Gathering the blades on the ground quickly, he vaulted after him and they clashed again in mid-air. Left, right, upswing, and then block- the shadow crossed two blades on its hand and shoved the Heir of Berk to the ground. One, two, three blades pierced the ground he was standing on, fortunately, he was able to somersault backwards three times with his two swords still held firmly on his hands. They observed that the 8-blade swordsman would always use its right foot to firmly place on the ground, and then use it as a coiled spring to launch him upwards like a vault so he can always attack from the high side giving more strength and force on his blows.

As it spun downwards they felt the ground break under its foot. The 8 blades still protruding everywhere, making counter-attacking very awkward as hesitancy creeps in too.

"Are you sure its in- I don't know level 4?"

Portio just smiled and shook his head, "Calm down everyone and trust in Hiccup- if you jump in and interfere, you could endanger him by exposing yourself too in danger. He needs to focus, and you also need to learn at the way you need to fight in the coming weeks."

Doppel swung down with a sword using his right, Hiccup easily deflected it, but the left hand was already cocked all the way into the back. The enemy swung it low towards the Heir and missed his right leg. Instead, it went for the ground, breaking his footing and balance. As Hiccup wobbled in place, he was suddenly launched in mid-air as the enemy spun while still crouched, the leg sweeps under his own. As he spun, he saw the enemy took a mid-air spinning blade on its left hand and thrusts it towards him. Blood spurted as the blade embedded on top of his right shoulder, pain coursed through his body as the force knocked him backwards to the ground.

"He's wounded! Stop it! Stop that thing!"

"I can't."

"What do you mean you can't!?" Astrid exclaimed in front of Portio.

"Because he is the one that have to command the Doppelganger to stop. He alone can make it stop."

"Frakking damnation!"

The Doppelganger stepped over to him and raised his sword, however, unexpectedly Hiccup still had strength to somersault backwards hitting the enemy with a spinning kick as he retreated and maneuvered to gain a much better ground. Willing himself to bear with the pain, the Heir of Berk ran towards the enemy and jumped at it. As he reached the zenith of his approach, Hiccup spun with his two blades spewing out fire and wind that could cut an arm in half. The shadowy enemy reeled back as the blow exposed one of the deadly vulnerabilities of the 8-bladed swordsman.

It has absolutely no defense skill whatsoever. It was just a purely aggressive assault technique, designed not to wound, but to kill. The only defense it had was when it coincided with the attack patterns of the style.

Fire enveloped the Doppelganger as it writhed in obvious pain, not that it felt actual pain, but it was simulating the image and feeling of the projected enemy. With the blow sending the shadowy enemy to the ground, Hiccup landed on his good feet panting for air. He couldn't believe it, with just a few minutes of clashing he is already winded, how damaged was he anyway.

No choice then.

"-ahoma..."

The Riders of Berk looked at each other in confusion, "Ok-lay home-? What did he said?"

"OKLAHOMA!"

**_"Safe word accepted- Doppel program on standby, weapons standing down."_**

"Doppler program shut down, results litany required."

Astrid rushed to his side as his weapon was carefully returned to their sheaths. The Doppelganger materialized again into the small black crystal as the blonde Valkyrie catches Hiccups already falling form.

"I- hah- thought I was- hah- in shape!" he could only exclaim as he rested on Astrid's arms. His back ached from the exertion, his fingers and palms chaffed at his sword's pommel, and his extremities were screaming numbing pain.

"Considering your nerves were shot up just a week ago, you are still in shape-" Portio approached and crouched to his level, he tilted a potion on his lips as Hiccup blanched at the taste, "Don't be so picky, after you show us your skill it's amazing you survived a Level 4. Shall we try level 6 now?"

"Please don't kill me."

The Master laughed lightly as it turned to the black crystal now lying on the ground, the rest of the Riders gathered around it as Portio picked it up and handed it to Hiccup. The deep wound on his shoulder, thanks to the effects of the potion, was already closing and as he held the black crystal a mechanical voice seemed to emanate from it.

_**"Doppel Program results: Full-body recovery still at 80%, body pains detected at extremities still a concern. Recommend a lighter exercise next time. Thank you for using the Doppel Program. Have a nice day."**_

"Cheerful little bastard isn't he?"

Astrid smacked him on the head annoyed at his tongue-in-cheek, "You could have been killed, by a stupid instrument no-less!"

"Clearly, you have no absolute faith in me-" he struggled to get up again, the pain finally subsiding as the young woman helped him up, "-Master Portio, I would like to rest now. I would like to take my leave before you want to make sure again that my locomotive skills aren't shot up anymore."

"I think that would be best considering you seem to need some rest, and take Astrid with you- I don't want you falling down or anything."

KA-CHING!

Hiccup puts his left arm over Astrid's shoulder and began walking in pain out of the arena. They walked in silence when suddenly a black shadow leaps over them and started wiggling towards them excitedly.

"Ok, ok! Stop, please- oh my god here comes the-" saliva slathered all over him as Astrid managed to finally get away, "-tongue. Toothless! You know that doesn't wash out!"

The Night Fury laughed throatily, wiping his face away with the sweat, Hiccup flicked the sticky liquid from his hands into the dragon, earning an annoyed look from the Night Fury. Astrid approached Hiccup and gave him a rag to clean his face with.

"You shouldn't ignore him too much."

"I know, I've been _'grounded' _for a long time-" Hiccup said forlornly as he stroked the black dragon's scaly hide, "-but riding takes its toll on a rider. I can't maintain flight control for a long time. Now, I'm not just hurting, but also smells like dragon saliva."

"Hey, the new hot baths have been in operation for days now."

Hiccup's ears perked at that as he smiled in agreement, "You mean to tell me that my little suggestion, of having Gronckles find a hot spring was carried out? I didn't even get the report on it-"

"It was forwarded to you, I think it got buried under the tons of report."

Excitedly, they walked towards the hot spring with Astrid leading the way. Thinking back these past few week, after his assassination attempt, there weren't many times when they had the chance to actually spend time together like this. Their hands holding tightly as they walked through the forest towards the bath house. Toothless trailed behind them, knowing that he still couldn't fly wit his friend like this.

Reaching the bath house, Astrid smiled at him and dragged him inside. Once inside, he could only gasp at the beauty of the natural/man-made cavern. The whole cavern was as large as the Great Hall, with a small waterfall falling down to numerous tiers until finally resting on the largest pool and the shallowest of them all. Each and every tier had varying degrees of heat and depth so as to accommodate smaller or larger Vikings. Also it allows the womenfolk some privacy since they obviously occupied the topmost tiers, while the men occupied the lower parts. There were torches on the mouth of the cavern, but numerous holes were drilled into the ceiling, probably by Gronckles, to let the natural come in and illuminate the dark caverns. Steam permeated in the air as the hydro-thermal water gushed from the top all the way downwards.

Rustling beside him made Hiccup turn as he saw Astrid remove her spiked skirt.

Wait, removed her spiked skirt? You don't say...

"What are you doing?"

Astrid turned back to him and raised an eyebrow, "I'm removing my clothes, to take a bath- obviously, I don't need my armor to take a dip."

Hiccup blushed not from the heat of the hot bath, but from something else, "Isn't there a private place where you can- I don't know, take it all off instead of here?!"

She smiled at his blushing face, "Why? Don't you want to see me take it off?" she said while teasingly sliding her tunic down a fraction revealing her creamy white skin. Her smile intensified seeing a minute of blood drop from his nose.

_'Knocked-out already Mr. Hiccup?'_

"Of course, I would want to! But what if someone comes over here?"

The blonde Valkyrie took his hand and dragged him upwards to the higher tiers, he found out that there were stairs conveniently chiseled to the cavern floor. She led him to the highest tier and Hiccup saw that they had a complete view of the whole cavern.

"Only womenfolk are allowed here- except of course when one wishes to dip with some privacy."

His cheeks were already red at the temperature, now it got redder with something else. She smiled at him as Astrid helped him out of his tunic, carefully setting Agni and Rudra to the ground without the two semi-sentient weapons making too much of a fuss. He was stripped down to his underpants made of a linen fabric together with his peg-leg, as he was led to the topmost pool and unceremoniously pushed inside by Astrid. Spluttering like a fish out of water, he managed to grab hold of the sides of the pool as he tried to right himself up. The hot steaming water assaulted his senses as his whole body was soaked thoroughly inside the hot pool.

"Very- pfft! gentle of you- pfft! my dear!"

He spluttered sarcastically as he regained his footing, carefully he rubbed the painful stump on his left leg as it remained almost fresh even with the leather padding and different wrappings he does every single time. He clambered on top of a makeshift chair that he also found to have been chiseled into the pool. Comfortably, he sat himself down and found that the water reached only up to his neck as long as he doesn't disturb too much of the water.

Now this was excellent.

His eyes drooped, his heart rate slowed, his back usually straight and right was now bent and relaxed. Everything seemed to slow as the hot water enveloped his senses. He barely felt Astrid sidle next to him with only her under tunic keeping her decent in his eyes. His arm encircled her hips as he pulled her towards him.

"Does this constitute courtship?"

"What do you think?"

"Well, my brain that is responsible for every naughty thing that I've done so far is telling me _'let's just go and be done with it'_, but my chivalrous nature is haplessly screaming to just _'relax'_."

"I think you just need to relax for now."

Hiccup just smiled as Astrid turned to face him and began massaging his temples. Feeling the veins that are currently pumping pain hormones to his head, she carefully kneaded his head, then down to his neck then to his shoulders. Patting him in the back, she made him move forward so she can go behind him and started to massage him there too.

"You have unexpectedly good muscular groups."

"That has got to be the most appealing praise I've had all day, it's such a joy to be your boyfriend do you know that Astrid?"

She laughed brightly at the sarcasm on his voice, seriously, why does she find his sarcasm and its accompanying voice very endearing to her. Sure, it pisses her off sometimes, but most of it seemed not directed towards her. Its like he expresses irony in his sarcastic tirades. Astrid moved on to his arms, first to the left and to the right. The hot pool makes for a good cuddling area as the cold environment perfectly blended with the warm feeling in between their two bodies.

"Astrid?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you love me?"

Her hand stopped as she puts his arm down and looks at him in the eyes. His dark green eyes belied no playful tendencies and the look he was giving her signaled something very serious at the end of their conversation.

"Of course, I wouldn't be caught naked- rather ambushed at your room at the blacksmith's if I don't," she said not breaking his gaze, "I am Astrid Hofferson, a proud warrior of Berk, and you have my love Hiccup. All of it."

She kissed him tenderly and his hand came up to grabbed her on the nape, the kiss lingered and as they broke off there was strength in his eyes.

"I am an evil man Astrid."

"You are not evil in my eyes."

"I am. I, rather we slaughtered countless lives whenever we took a citadel. Soldiers, their wives, sons even their pets if there are any left. We kill them all in the moment of battle, and their cries sometimes crawl up to my head in my sleep."

"-that only means you are not as evil as you think you are."

"Love blinds all who cast their gaze upon the one they want," his brow furrowed and looked down into the steaming water, "I have killed people Astrid, more than you have met in your life."

Where was this coming from?

"When I fought for Asgard it did not matter if I die or not, I am honored to die under the banners of Asgard and I did fought without reservation and thought to my well-being."

"But during the ambush I was terrified- absolutely terrified that it almost paralyzed me to inaction."

He sighed as she kept silent, her heart beating faster as his words continued, "I was terrified for you, I knew you were in the most trouble of all considering you were with me. I had to save you in exchange for my own safety- and I realized, that I had never showed anyone such love before."

"I feel like I do not deserve you Astrid," his eyes met her and it almost made her cry, somewhere in his powerful persona as a warrior, there was still something broken inside, "I feel that I have put you more in danger by being close to me. It is by my request that I go back to Berk after seeing that Drago would destroy the village, and frankly, I didn't care for the village if it be destroyed. I cared more for you Astrid."

"And now I am afraid," he sighed again as he felt her arms envelope him from behind, "I am afraid of losing you. And it just weighed so heavily in my mind when I was recovering that I began to fear more- and it was terrible to feel that way."

"So," she interjected, "What are you saying?"

"I really don't know Astrid, and frankly I'm stumped. I want to safeguard you and protect you with all my might- however, if something bad should happen to you I feel like I deserve it due to my actions of the past. And there in lies the irony, I don't want you hurt in anyway possible! I just can't bear in mind that someone who I love so much should suffer that its tearing me apart and-"

**SLAP**

"That is really helping my resolve!" he exclaimed as he rubbed his sore cheek where Astrid slapped him silly, "God in heaven! Why would you do that?"

She grabbed him back to her as he started to move away, locking her legs on his stomach and her arms on his neck. He finally stopped squirming and she said, "I am a warrior Hiccup, do not insult me."

"But why-"

"Shut up, I'm not finished. First and foremost, even before you loved me or confessed to me, I was already stronger than you. I am a human being, and as all humans we get hurt a lot of times, so far do you follow?"

He nodded meekly and she continued, "Now, I am a woman, and I actually feel real good that you would be honest with me and tell me exactly what you feel for me Hiccup. But please, never ever pity me, never ever coddle me so much because it hurts my pride as a warrior."

"I am a Viking Hiccup, and I have chosen to accept your feelings. I know the risks of it all, in a Midgardian point of view, with you being next in line and all that. But now it encompasses all your enemies from before, now it puts fear in me too to be honest, but what strengthens me is that we can face this together. With Master Portio training us, and you beside us- we'll be unstoppable."

"So don't fear so much Hiccup," she hugged him tighter and pressed her lips on his sore cheeks, "I love you and no matter what our trials are- as long as you remain faithful to me, then I shall remain faithful to you. We can do this together, and if somehow in the future we fail- we just have to make sure we die side by side, with our swords in our hands."

He smiled at her words, it had been truly worth it to choose her for him.

"I love you Astrid."

"-and I love you too Hic," they kissed for a while and finally parted. His eyes were kind of clear now, until he saw the naughtiness that suddenly clouded it once more. Her eyes widened as she felt his hands crawling underwater from her knees, to the her hips and finally to her butt. He squeezed firmly and leered at her.

"So uh- since we have clearly established that, want some hanky-panky?"

**SLAP!**

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**To be continued...**

**Author's note:**

Mind giving a review? It's not that hard huh?

Also, I know Tomas Torquemada was no Cardinal. Can't you play pretend? Sheesh!

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Thank you everyone,

Scarabeye3000


	27. Chapter 27

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Shout out to my signed reviews! You know who you are: **SMr. Freeze, The Viking Stranger, UnbreakableWarrior, The FishKing, jlghighlander, saberstorm, dracologistmaster**

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**Disclaimer: Any characters mentioned are all under copyright. This work is purely fan-made.**

**Title: From Asgard to Midgard**

**Author: Scarabeye3000**

**Chapter 27: **_**'Pirate Latitudes.**_**_'_**

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Berkian Archipelago

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A black dragon whizzed high into the clouds, it seemed to jump from cloud to cloud, across the blue sky. Its rider, fully armored and covered with a riding mask sat low on its saddle. It's been weeks, actually almost a month since the two of them flew and the rush of the wind on their bodies felt exhilarating to the point of joyous exuberance.

Toothless opened his eyes wide, the wide expanse of the sky and sea felt good. It was the best feeling as they dived, rolled, and glided around them. Strong wing beats propelled the Night Fury into the sky, up towards the fictional home of the Gods. A triumphant roar as Toothless broke through the cloud cover, his rider whooped in joy as they reached the apex of their flight.

"That felt great bud!" Hiccup shouted through the whistling wind, "I thought we won't get to fly again! I missed you buddy!"

The dragon warbled in delightful agreement, to fly was to live for a dragon. It was the ultimate feeling of freedom and the feeling of happiness just surged through their chests. Sure, his hips were rubbed raw, his arms felt like lead from the exertion, his lungs were screaming for more oxygen, and his butt felt like a thousand palms just slapped him silly, but it still felt great to fly into the sky.

Flying around in circles, the Heir of Berk rubbed his friend's neck. Understanding his actions the Night Fury quickly turned its ears towards him and looked at him with large green innocent eyes.

"Want to visit the outposts?"

Emitting a semi-agreed noise, he made Toothless turn towards the nearest outpost and tried to maintain a stable flight.

The sea was blue and the winds made the waves white in their eyes. From their height he could see well beyond the horizon and a small black dot came to the edge of his sight.

"Bud, I think I see the Western Outpost!"

Toothless aimed his eyes toward the horizon and the young man felt his mount nod in agreement. Closing his body to the reptilian, the dragon spreads his wings farther and kept his extremities close to his body. They were making good time and the head winds they were riding kept pushing them beyond they could accomplish with furious beats of his large wings.

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Western Outpost - Amon Sul

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It was named Amon Sul, from the Elvish word for Hill of the Wind, a homage to one of the four towers in their former homeworld of the Dark Elves and the White Hands. Fitting since the winds from the western lands swept its craggy hills and beheld the skirmish that made Hiccup find his mother.

A large man of Viking proportions walked towards the upper observation deck of the Berkian Outpost. He was a kin of Fjall and he respected and greatly admired the advance thinking of the Heir of Berk. Their family, a branch family of the Ingermann, supported and endorsed the Haddocks and willingly followed all directions of the new incoming Chief.

That is why he accepted such a task, to rebuild and fortify the fallen Western Outpost. Granted, it was because of the Chief's wife that is the reason for its destruction, however, that problem has been addressed already. Much to the delight of the populace, the Haddock Clan have gotten their matriarch, and now with Hiccup taking a more active role in the running of things at Berk it sealed the power base of their Clan.

He had discussed this with his cousin Fjall one night, with the Haddocks owning the whole island of Berk, swathes of farmland, plus its blacksmiths, mines, even most of the dragon equipment and has the complete command of their air force, they believe none may challenge their Clan in leadership for probably the next hundred years.

Their clan held the lumber workshops and ship builders, they are also excellent carpenters and shipwrights, and their clan are excellent administrator including the handling of the Haddock Mines. Fjall, the leader of their clan holds the largest fishing fleet and also holds a coveted position inside Stoick's circle of Lieutenants.

Now, as he looks over the horizon with a cup of tea, courtesy of their travelling tradesman, he felt that life is good. The old entrance from above was fortified now with wooden spikes sharpened with actual iron tools. Earthen landing pads were added for the ease upon which dragons from Berk could land now even in a hurry. The first level just below them still held the mustering area and some equipment for the patrols that they might need to send, in addition to that were the new and numerous bunker rooms, the second level held the common room where the second floor observation area and more bunker rooms are located. The third room was a former storage area, but it held the escape hatch that Hiccup and Toothless once used to escape from the sustained flame burst coming from Cloudjumper.

Aside from the outpost on top of the mountainous ridge that is unreachable by all means, is a small port that was constructed by the Ingermanns recently. The port serviced a small fortified building, with round stone walls that faced the sea and had numerous vantage points that is maintained by another garrison under their clan. Now this might seem like a squander in manpower and time, but having dragons on their side, the passing of information is much faster now and Berk can respond in hours compared to having to sail the seas and waste valuable time.

So, it was no surprise that the man named Fhild Ingermann smiled as they saw the black dot on the horizon. It was small at first, then steadily it grew larger and larger until they can finally discern a black dragon heading for them.

Toothless landed with his hind feet first and then his front paws, marching forward Hiccup slid his mask up as Fhild approached and bowed his head slightly, "Hiccup, this is an unexpected visit."

"I just managed to recover my strength recently and I felt confident I could take to the air once more-"

"Aha! I trust that you are all better now?"

"Yes, I've been well rested and the stiffness is gone now- I could even ride straight through the maneuvers then some of course."

"That's good to hear, well, I'm sure you're tired... why don't you get some rest for now, the supply ships should be coming in today and we should be replenished later on. Mind sticking around for dinner or lunch at the least."

Hiccup pats his knees and rolled his shoulders, "I'll take you up on that rest offer, bobbing up and down on dragon back while flying is very exhilirating... but then again, I am bobbing up and down on a scaly back. My calves hurt- I'll rest for a little bit and stretch a leg and a peg- by the way, can Toothless grab something to eat?"

Fhild pointed towards the dragon stables and smiled, "Perfect timing, we just finished replenishing the fish pile. The patrols should be coming around back now to rest, you see, we try and adhere to the guidelines you lined out for us regarding the rotation of the patrols, the men, and the garrison. The men are usually well-rested and well, I think all they need is just some excitement."

"Sir!" A Viking walked up to them and said, "We have a ship in sight, she flies no flag and her sails are bare. No wares aboard so probably not a trader either."

Fhild smiled at Hiccup and raises his eyebrows, "Well, perfect timing wouldn't you say so?" he turned to the Viking and said, "Alert the patrol boats- we need them to ask what the hell they're doing in our waters."

Hiccup turned to the observation deck and looked at the waters below, it was still small, but the unmistakable figure and silhouette of a ship can be seen from where he stood. Most different though is the two prominent sails near the bow of the ship, it had no real motif, just a massive navy blue and some Celtic colors and design. Weird, the Scottish realm didn't send their ships here, it was mainly the Vikings who would invade.

Why is it here then?

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From the port below, a small Terrible Terror landed on a porch on the highest building, a young Viking approached and took the small parchment. Reading quickly the instructions, he took another roll of parchment, wrote his reply and sent off the Terror again on its way, but not before giving it a piece of deer jerky. The small dragon chirped in thanks and flew back towards the high citadel, meanwhile, the Viking stepped outside to a small deck and took hold of a bell.

"General quarters! General quarters! Possible pirate ship on Western approach!" he shouted into the air, his bell sounding loud with his declaration, "General quarters! Prepare the '_Sea Wing!' _General quarters!"

Viking men dropped whatever they were doing and began loading the ships with weapons, bola launchers with ballistas copied from Romans scattered across the sides, and even a small catapult at the bow of the ship. The stern held two mysterious circular doors as men began boarding the longship. They wore light leather armor, designed by Hiccup and produced by the tanners back at Berk, there were no adornments on them just the identification that they were made at Berk, and for Berk's own Navy. A young Captain strode out to the gangway and stepped over to the deck of the ship, behind him a young man of teen years followed quickly. He was from the Hofferson clan, Captain Svail Hofferson, a cousin of Astrid and one of the young survivors of the Siege of Berk. His adjutant marched behind him as the Captain turned to the young man.

"All ready Arnar?"

"Aye sir!" the young man saluted, regretfully, he failed in selecting a dragon that would 'bond' with him, but it was all right. To serve in the Navy is not a bad thing, its just less thrilling when the mere prospect of swimming in frigid waters present itself.

"Again, I hope you don't regret joining the Naval forces- but my cousin Astrid did put a good word for you, its just not everyone can, I guess get the dragon they wish."

Arnar smiled at the Captain, it was such a joy that the Lady Astrid managed to give him a posting even though he failed at Dragon Training since no Dragon managed to bond with him. But the Captain is a nice man, and no doubt he would advance in rank with such an honorable man as his patron and would no doubt look after him, "What about you sir?"

Svail smiled bitterly as he sighed and walked towards the stern, "I was part of the Air Force little one, its just that my dragon was slain by Drago's men."

"I- I'm sorry sir."

"It's alright," the Captain assured him, Astrid told him anyway that she doesn't think that Dragons imprint for life. Maybe he just has to let go, and he just couldn't figure letting his dragon, _'Stonemauler' _yet out of his mind.

Oh how he missed his Gronckle.

Captain Svail stood straight and nodded towards the First mate, understanding the command, the First mate started barking orders. "Push off port and tie the lines, raise anchor and prepare to unfurl the sails. Oarsmen, dig your paddles!"

A drumbeat sounded as the oars men pulled and rotated their paddles through the water. The First Mate, satisfied that his orders were followed turned back to the Captain and approached him. "Captain the ship is under way."

"Good, as soon as we have favorable winds fly the sails and prepare the men for possible boarding. According to the Citadel its a two sailed ship, possibly a catamaran? Or a split hull?"

"It could be a galleon, or a junk- but I don't think they could reach us so far in the North we are."

"Nevertheless, as soon as we are in sight, I want to be informed at once."

"At your command!" the First Mate saluted and turned to the ship again, the rudder was manned by an excellent sea man under the direction of the First Mate. Captain Svail seeing that all is well, went below deck and headed for his cabin, his adjutant followed closely behind.

The long ship named _"Sea Wing" _was large in the eyes of a sea man, it was as long as a roman trireme and still almost flat bottomed for wading on beaches. It's keel or depth was unlike the Galleons, instead it sits relatively high on the water without full cargo. Shields adorned the sides from every family that served aboard her, from the linemen, to the oarsmen, even Captain Svail's family shield can be seen hanging on the starboard side of the ship. A large dragon head carving, similar to a snarling_ Changewing_ served as its bow while the small catapult at the front sits with its basket in the resting position.

.

Eret lounged on his cabin as he read the numerous parchment on his small circular table. It was the listings of their take from numerous ships they have encountered, some ships that strayed on their way to British Isles, and to Scotland, a little nip on a ship that flew the French flag, and of course, the slave ship that was on the course for the islands of the Coalition.

Really now, the Coalition, with its menagerie of members that are currently unknown still mystifies him. Not that they were bothering him specially or not, but the whispers and influence it exuded did not go unnoticed. Coming from a trapper, turned pirate like him, the black market that they control is a large and profitable banquet that they are planning to bank upon. And that includes the wanted pictures he had.

"_The Coalition has allocated three chest full of gold to be paid on delivery the person known as Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, or Hiccup Stoickson, or Hiccup DragonMaster, or Hiccup the Useless. He must be captured alive and must be presented in person to the Black Citadel of the Coalition, upon which payment will be given on the successful completion of the task._

_Last known location, Isles of Berk at the Barbaric Archipelago."_

Well, Eret thought, three chest full of gold can go a long way. Such a long way in fact, he can live as a noble man in France or even Wales if he so wishes it as long as he gets his hand on the money.

And so now he finds himself freezing his ass off on his boat, with all of his men driving their ship towards the island of Berk. He ordered them to-

"LAND!"

The shout made him sit up and head for the door, he headed up to the top deck and saw his First Mate. "Teeny, what did you see?"

"It's an island," one member of his retinue pointed to a small rocky outcrop on the distance, it had a few trees depending on their sight range alone, and a very rough beach. But they still haven't seen the other side, Berk is approximately another two days and a half of sea travel and that island would be good for a stop over.

"Head for it and we'll rest there for the night."

"Aye sir!"

The men all hurried to their tasks as Ug, a namesake of the Uglithugs former Chief, approached him and said, "So, what's the plan when we get to Berk?"

"There's supposed to be a tavern there right? Why don't we go there as adventurers?"

"You haven't thought this through haven't you?"

Eret shrugged, "Well, what can I say, we usually do things on the fly. But this plan of ours must have one ultimate goal, and that is to get Hiccup to the Coalition."

"It's dangerous, no doubt Berkians would chase after us with all of their might."

"It can't be that bad," their Captain waved them off, "They're not Drago or anything right? In fairness, they might not even know that we're coming for them. Hell, they might not even know we're here!"

"SHIP! AHOY!"

Ug sighed as Eret looked scandalized, it took a moment but he finally ordered, "See what flag it flies!"

The lookout squinted his eyes looked through an Eastern style telescope and saw the sails of the ship, it was a red skull and the flag it flew was a heavily stylized dragon. But instead of the dragon being slain or snarling at something, the flag clearly depicted a dragon being ridden by a human. It was clear, the ship is from Berk.

"It flies the flag of BERK!"

"What state are they in?"

Squinting once more, they saw that the ballistas on the bow of the ship had large bolts loaded onto them and the catapult was being pulled back and seemed to be on the process of being loaded. The men on the Berkian ship were not running around anymore, they were fully armored and armed, he can even see the oarsmen rowing at the beat of a drummer. A man with a large sword and woolen covers stood behind on the stern of the ship as it shouted directions and visibly pointed to their own ship. The lookout gulped loudly and yelled, "BATTLE STATIONS! THEY'RE ON BATTLE STATIONS!"

"All right lads! You heard him! Battle stations!"

A frenzy of activity swept through their ship as the longship of the Vikings headed straight for them. Bolt weapons were loaded, bola launchers were made taut and the shields were raised on the sides. On the seas, especially in the Barbaric Archipelago, no ship could approach another ship without being suspicious of the other. So it was only natural by being very cautious at everything. Also considering they have a very bad motive for heading to Berk, it can't be bad thing to prepare for the worst right?

Eret secured his two swords on his side, one on his left near his hip, and one directly behind him. Tightening his leather gloves, he expelled a large sigh and shook his head to remove the nervousness, Berkian Vikings would greet him on his first time here and it won't be really pretty.

Bummer!

The horn of the approaching longship resounded as it approached, it only had one message:

**"DROP YOUR WEAPONS AND LOWER YOUR SAILS! YOU HAVE ENTERED THE TERRITORIAL WATERS OF BERK! HEAVE-TO NOW!"**

"Should we heed?" Ug asked Eret, nervousness creeping on his voice as they watched a 30ft longship on full sails and oarsmen on ramming speed headed towards them. Not to mention the ballista launchers aimed at them.

"No, we have the long range ones that came from the siege weapons we took from that Genovesean siege ship that wandered just North of us. Fire on the line boys and make them on their toes."

"FIRE!"

.

Captain Svail looked on as the errant pirate ship decided not to heave-to and lower their sails. Instead, he saw their bola launchers being armed and then fired at their direction. The First mate rushed in front of him with a broad iron shield and raised it in front of his Captain, "Incoming!" was all he managed to shout as the projectile reached the zenith of its arc and came hurtling down to the _'Sea Wing'_, its sailors scrambled for cover as it rained blunt missiles that didn't necessarily kill, but smack, or in worst cases, clipped the head of the crew. With much smattering of foul seamen language, Captain Svail righted himself up as the First mate kneels in front of him. Arnar, his adjutant also stood up taking cover using a small buckler that he had.

"Orders Captain?"

"Batten down and return fire!"

"They're out of range sir!"

"Damnation," Captain Svail looked behind him at the locked circular cages and sighed, well, they weren't supposed to make use of them yet, but what the hell, "Release the Dragons!"

The large circular doors opened and a large Monstrous Nightmare's head came snarling out.

.

"They're not surrendering I see- oh they started firing at our ships!"

"Terrific, maybe now we can test the capabilities of our new Dragon Carriers."

"Huh, what do you mean?" Hiccup tilted his head in wonder, Toothless mimicked him flawlessly.

Fhild smiled and said, "My nephew, Fishlegs read the numerous papers you wrote on your sickbed. The Dragon Carrier was a pretty good idea-"

"Wait a second," he drew close to Fhild and looked up at him, "You mean to tell me, that a prototype of my dragon holding pen and its ship configuration was made?"

"Actually, we just took the largest longship we had and just converted it." the Viking actually laughed a bit, "It was easy you know, we are the Ingermanns after all."

Hiccup looked over the edge as Fhild and Toothless stood beside him. From their perch way up into the cliffs he could see the ship battle unfolding before them, and also the minor changes on the somewhat fourty footer longship. There were ample ballistas and a dragon pen at the aft of the ship. It looked great as it glided to the water, its crew swarming all around in the organized chaos as it lined up against the enemy. The supposed Pirate ship was firing its forward armaments of converted bola launchers to their own ships, he could see the Berkians scrambling for their wooden shields, but instead of the more common round shields, he could see the they were using the larger and broader tower shields.

"Did you change our shields?"

"Aye, but just for the ships considering we need them to defend from incoming fire. The Romans did teach us the _Testudo_ and as you said in your papers, why not incorporate it? It won't hurt nobody, so we tried it out on the _'Sea Wing' _and so far everything seemed good-" they saw that the massed shields made a particularly good wall and it deflected most of the projectiles, "-see, less projectiles, more survivability for our warriors."

Hiccup shook his head, "Wait, we're Vikings- it's an occupational hazard right?"

"Well, the papers that you wrote contradicted that. You are a compassionate leader, and the men seemed- well, honored to have you think of their well-being in such a manner that even our normal routine and practice was altered to prove your point."

The Heir was stunned, "You- you would all do that for me?"

Fhild puts a fist in his chest and nodded at him, "You are our salvation against one of the most trying times of our lives, the village is safe and has never prospered like this. Expansion, wealth, military might- we could rival anyone in almost everything now. All we need now is a secure power base, but your father is taking care of that."

"How?"

The man shrugged his shoulders, "I clearly don't know, but from what I heard he has sent a message to all the ruling Chieftains. An alliance or rather a confederation of Chiefdom united under one rule, and one army."

This sent a chill down his spine as the wheels seemed to turn much faster than he could comprehend, "Why have I not been included in these talks- by the Gods I don't even know the simple thoughts I have had during my sick days have been given legs and inducted into our daily life? This is- this is too big for me to digest now!"

Fhild scratched the back of his head, "I guess he wanted to talk to you on your own. I mean, maybe open it up on the next town meeting?"

Hiccup just shook his head and refocused on the battle raging down below.

.

"Hard to port!" Eret shouted, his two swords drawn as the enemy finally reached the range of their own weapons and was currently returning fire, "Teeny, where are the fire arrows?"

"Stored below? Should we use them now?"

The tattooed man walked up to him and breathed down on his cowering form, "We are engaged in battle, get your asses moving and start hauling those projectiles!"

His crew scrambled to head downstairs to the lower deck as the bosun ran up to him, panting and pointing at the sky.

"Captain! They have dragons!"

Eret shook his head and sighed, "Bloody fuck."

.

"Nightmare Flight on me!"

The somewhat young voice of the helmeted Viking carried over the whistling of the wind as two other Nightmares with riders on top of them flew on his sides, with a gesture, he lets go of the riding harness and stretched his hand. The two riders beside him dived with their dragons on their respective sides as they followed the hand commands of their leader, another one behind him also riding another Nightmare stayed close and they dove for the pirate ship.

With the wind whistling in their ears, the two Nightmares that broke off began circling the target ship as their leader dived and sprayed the top deck of the ship with his tail rider also spraying his dragon fire on the places that their Nightmare leader missed.

Kind of like swabbing the deck again, after you missed a spot.

"How do you like that!?" the Lead taunted.

Tightening his leg hold on his dragon, he made him turn without holding the harness. He opened his arms wide and then snapped them with his fist coming together.

Immediately, the two 'wing men' who broke off a while ago and was circling also dived bomb and aimed for the twin sails. Spraying it liberally with dragon spit and fire, it easily burned the sail and crippled the pirate ship almost to a halt, leaving it heaving to the waves.

Again, their leader held up his right hand. His fist tightened for all his 'wing men' to see, he then made a cutting motion with his left and signaled what looked like a sword 'severing his right arm'. To the uninitiated it doesn't seemed to make any sense, but as the Nightmare Lead turned and headed for the _'Sea Wing'_ the two 'wing men' dived for Eret's ship again and targeted the bola and ballista launchers.

"Gustav! The wingmen are attacking the ship's armaments successfully- we must pull back and board them!"

"I know!" Gustav Larson, the Nightmare Leader looked back and saw that the 'wing men' had succeeded in burning the deck weapons. He took out a cylindrical shaped tube and lighted the end. A wick burned on its top and he pointed it outward of his dragon, the tube shot out bright balls of light with an explosion as his 'wing men' now finished with crippling the sails and destroying the ship's weapons raced after them.

The _'Sea Wing' _was still a long way off, more than 500 meters yet it seemed to be firing its long-range ballistas at the pirate ship. The Monstrous Nightmares, numbering four in total with Gustav at the lead headed for their mother ship, from a far they could see 4 groups of men holding metal rings to the sky, paired together and not to far apart. They had the lightest lamellar armor made of wooden squares, and tight leather coats and gloves.

His 'wing men' finally caught up to them and in a line they swooped down on the _'Sea Wing'_ deck and grab hold two men at a time. Actually, their Nightmares grabbed hold of the outstretched metal rings and every paired warrior was carried aloft by the Nightmares, one man per leg. It was a maneuver they had practiced over and over again, until finally, they could confidently send their warriors to hold on for at most five minutes.

.

"What the hell are they doing!?"

Hiccup exclaimed as he saw with elation that dragons and humans working flawlessly together as a unit. A dream he once thought to be impossible, yet now applied to the very thing that makes Vikings who they are.

But the overall application itself brought questions to the fore of his mind. Does he really want their dragons to be exploited like that? Do the Dragons really want to do these things for us? How much is too much for the dragons? And why the hell are these questions about morality popping up right now?

"Just like what you managed to convey, we put our youngest and most aggressive warriors to become the boarding party," Fhild gestured with his hands at the flight of Nightmares heading back to the errant ship, "As you can see, with the ship crippled and unable to move and their on-board weapon destroyed, we can easily board the ship now. Without risking our men from the small boats we used to deploy, also we don't need to show the main ship's broadside at them. We just need them to stay put and the dragons would cripple them and make them stay put, also the speed of deployment is up to our advantage."

"I see a problem with this arrangement."

Fhild smiled, "Ah yes, with those 8 warriors landing on the ship- they would be effectively cut off from the main force. But not to worry, as you can see-" the four Nightmares deposited their human load and circled the listing ship as if on over watch against the enemies, "-as you can see, the four Nightmares would provide the necessary cover for the deployed men. They just need to disrupt the rest of the enemy until the _'Sea Wing' _could approach them on the side unopposed and harassed."

Hiccup kept silent as in a few more minutes the pirate ship was subdued and he could see that their captain, a large man with the muscles and brawn that could never overpower his father, but give someone like him a really good exercise. Nevertheless, he was intrigued by their appearance and he turned to Toothless and said.

"Are you up for another spin?"

The Night Fury warbled encouragingly and wiggled his tail, the prospect of flying made him ecstatic. Having his answer Hiccup turned to Fhild and mounted his dragon, "I appreciate your hospitality, but the changes you mentioned was kept from me. There are many difficulties that might complicate things especially when we deal with dragons. So far, with the dragons who isn't really bred for war, is now a critical weapon of Berk."

"But it's not necessarily a bad thing," Fhild said uncomfortably, "Please don't think badly of us because of how we treated the dragons, but the argument stands that we do not force them. However, you could not deny the efficiency of such a weapon could give us. With only four dragons working together we can effectively subdue a ship, imagine if we have a hundred of them, we can subdue a castle. If we have a thousand we could burn a city, with millions we could burn the world."

It was just said to him in passing, but the thought of a million dragons on their beck and call burning a civilization in cinders was frightening, and it was not a good thought to leave on his head. He could not see his dragon participating in such a slaughter, but the dragons had a demeanor so sensitive you could almost forget they could snap you like a twig if they wanted to. Still the thought of millions of dragons and riders stopped him cold, it was dangerous to think such offish thoughts. Too dangerous that you could easily achieve them if you have whatever he has on his mind.

"I shall get back to Berk at once to speak to my father, send the pirate ship including the... _'Sea Wing' _back to the island. This has not been cleared to me and it bothers me, do not worry Jarl Fhild, you would not be blamed for this."

With a jump and furious wing beats, Toothless brought him quickly to the clouds and made a beeline for Berk.

.

Eret, with his hands tied behind his back, kneels in front of the Leader of the group of Nightmare that attacked his ship. He wore finely made leather armor, with woolen covers dyed a deep red mimicking the colors of his own dragon, with customized horns and protrusions that typically made it common yet unique for his own.

His mask came off and the supposed 'pirate' Captain gasped. The leader of the Berkian Dragon Riders was a mere whelp. He was so young, he was probably barely off of his teen years and yet-

"Excuse me _sir_," Eret asked meekly, "Are you perhaps the one called _'Hiccup Haddock?_"

The young man blushed and furiously shook his head, "Oh, of course not. Hiccup is incomparable to me, he's skilled, smart, strong, and the savior of Berk."

Eret nods his head in understanding, "I see, but you're kind of young to be commanding men aren't you?"

"Well, I'm relatively new to my post- I'm one of the 2nd generation riders though."

"And who are the 1st generations-"

"-shut up prisoner," a burly Viking, the same one that came with the boarding party and acted as its de-facto leader, "You are not allowed to speak, and as for you Gustav-" he turned to the young man and shook his head, "-Captain Svail didn't want you guys speaking with the prisoners. You won't know, but you could give sensitive information to our enemy. You have to understand this child."

Gustav bowed and nods his head, "I apologize Bane, he seemed harmless now though."

"Regardless, let us handle them while you wait for the _'Sea Wing'_ to heave-to beside us."

Nodding in understanding, the young man walked to his dragon and stroked its chin, "Well, we did a good job Fanghook," his dragon matured now, with a broken horn on the right side of his face from his scuffle with Cloudjumper a few weeks ago. With his training completed, and his skills in riding proven by both Astrid and Snotlout, he was given a command of the first detachments of the airmen of Berk. A pioneer project to curb and make sure that the quality of riders that Berk uses is constant and would not compromise a group as a whole.

A few more minutes and finally the _'Sea Wing'_ finally heave-to beside the errant ship and the two were tied together as Captain Svail and his adjutant Arnar boarded the crippled ship. The numerous burns were finally put out, yet it was unmistakable that the two prominent sails were burned to cinders and its weaponry lay burned to the sides.

"So, what have we got?"

"We found these below-" Bane re-sheathed his sword and gave Captain Svail a roll of parchment, it was the Wanted Notice with Hiccup's name on it, "-from what I got they seemed to be Bounty Hunters."

Svail frowned and looked down at the notice, three chest full of gold huh? Well, I think he already got that after their victory with Drago was complete. So, this was the reward this people were thinking to collect, they couldn't have been more wrong when they sailed in their waters.

"Bring the survivors to the _'Sea Wing'_, we will bring them to Berk for questioning. Torture them I guess if we must, if they can no longer give us something, our dragons could get fatter with them."

Eret and his men gulped.

"Aye sir," Bane nods and turned towards the prisoners, he would carry out the order as the Captain walked about the ship. The weapons were quite exotic for this ship, it had bola launchers that could fling webbed nets into the air, and some ballistas that can reach farther than their own.

He could only conclude that their visitor was not only bounty hunters, but also pirates as well, and at one point could have been dragon trappers. But what else? He would leave that to Bane after they tow this crippled ship to their docks back at the Western Outpost.

.

.

Isle of Berk

.

Toothless landed near the Haddock Halls as Cloudjumper sat on the front steps. Warbling in delight the Night Fury bounded towards the larger dragon and playfully went under his wings, a move that clearly didn't amuse the largest of the two. With his stoic and old man face, Cloudjumper folded his wing to his body and shifted his body away from the overexcited black one. He seemed to sigh in exasperation as Hiccup looked at him. Well, his mother would probably visit the nest explaining the presence of the large dragon.

What he really wanted to do was speak to his father.

The rest of the Riders, Astrid, Snot, Fish, Cami and the twins would still probably at the arena being trained by the Dark Elves so there's no point to look for them. He turned as the door to their house opened and Valka stepped out dressed in her riding cloak.

"You're going to check the nest mom?"

"Oh, you're back early!" Valka smiled, her hair was still arranged in the same way when they found her, or crippled her weeks ago. She had foregone the cloak with a woolen one without much change to her dress, except for the belt proclaiming her allegiance to the Hooligans, a belt with a stylized skull as a buckle, "The nest seems to have had a few hatchlings now and I'm going there to do a headcount, see if there's any changes. Also to clean up and get some herbs for the healers."

"Mind taking Fishlegs, Astrid and Cami with you?"

Valka smiled, "I was planning to bring all the 1st Riders with me for training with healing herbs."

"That's great mom, err... have you seen dad?"

"Ah, your dad is with Gobber, apparently our peg-legged friend suggested to move the blacksmith near the armory they were planning to build on the Great Hill. I think they're discussing things right now down there. No pun intended for the peg-legged."

Hiccup smiled as he turned and quickly headed for the blacksmith's, he waved back to Valka, "Thanks mom, see you later."

With the knowledge of his father's whereabouts, he quickly applied his skills and reached the smithing in no time.

.

"See what I mean?"

Gobber was pumping the bellows and holding a piece of blade he was forging. A smith's hammer as his prosthetic arm, he pounded furiously at the blade and it bent into shape. Stoick, his old friend stood in front of the table and arranged the dragon items they were using.

"I can see what you mean, but having the blacksmith beside the armory is not a good thing. I mean if we get attacked then we risk having all our important buildings in one place."

The one armed blacksmith stood up straight and said, "Well, the attack on Berk made me think Stoick. And I discussed this too at one time with Hiccup, but aside from the cliff side natural defense, and the canyon walls that give access to Berk. We have no other strong point as it is. I was thinking of suggesting to make a fortress on the Great Hills and serve as our strong point."

"A mountain fortress? You know my son doesn't want that, his adventures were too much-" Stoick shook his head, "Tactically, we could make a fortress to hold out. But it won't be much in the way- to be able to last in a siege one must not only look to stable walls."

"Agreed, we both know what is needed, plus the dragons can help us hold it. There is a lot to be discussed about this endeavor and I think we should also resume our raiding parties."

"Raiding parties? Against other clans?"

"Against the civilized world? Hell, they call us barbarian for that reason why not give them that eh? We won't need to worry about the dragons anyway, especially now of course."

"Dad! Dad are you in?" a voice called out behind the blacksmith's as Hiccup's face peered from the back door, "Oh, you're here. Great, I wanted to talk to you about something."

"I'm happy to see you're riding and flying again."

"I'm happy to feel freedom again."

"So, what do you want to talk to me about right now son?"

"Dad, I just found out about the _'Sea Wing'_ and I'm not very comfortable with that."

Gobber rolled his eyes and sighed, Stoick breathed deeply and looked at Hiccup in the eye, "It was a great idea," was all he just said.

"Dad, why didn't you tell me about it?" Hiccup looked miffed.

"Ok, so I might have overlooked some things that I should have discussed with you first. But I found that it benefited Berk, plus it gave some direction for our military or where to put it at."

"Why was I not consulted? And where did you even get the idea to do all this things?"

Stoick shrugged and showed him a familiar small notebook, it had brown leather covering and it bore the red skull motif of the Hooligan tribe. His son looked scandalized as he grabbed his diary from his father. "How in the world did you get this?"

"You dropped it after we carried you back to the house, it had lots of ideas son. Ideas that could be beneficial-"

"Ideas that are dangerous dad! Ideas that I shouldn't have even thought about, but in the lull of every battle I needed an outlet to get my mind off of things!" he admitted, "To make things so we can do battle more effectively. By the Gods, dad this is not Asgard, we don't go to eternal war here!"

"What is your point then?"

Hiccup shook his head and sat down on a small barrel, he took his diary out and began leafing through the pages. "Dad, what else have you read on my diary?"

"Well, aside from your fantasies about women, especially Astri-"

"DAD! Please not that too!"

"Ok, ok," Stoick actually flinched at that, "Well, I kind of skipped that part. Anyways, the Dragon Carrier ships, about the fortification of Berk, about the Dragon Mountain Bombard-"

"You told him about that Gobber?!"

The blacksmith looked sheepishly, "Well, it was kind of hard to hide that large barrel we were making. He kind of got curious on what projectile we would use so I kind of told him the things we were trying to make."

"Alright what else?"

"-not much else about military, streamlining on the military supplies so that we have them uniformed as one, then the common supplies for the campaigns," Stoick continued, "I have to be honest son, most of these make sense and you know we can definitely use them."

"I- I just wished you would have talked to me about it, I mean, I feel we are exploiting dragons as a whole already that we have to drag them to our wars?"

"Is this a question of morality son? We are not forcing them, we don't whip them or anything, they trust us and they think they are doing a good job at it," Stoick stood up and sweeps his hand around, "And to point out the obvious, you weren't concerned about anything such as morality on your notes."

"Dad, please-" Hiccup shook his head and looked down to the ground, "- War is everything to me back then. For five years, an endless five years of fighting and killing. Crawling out of the ground covered in muck, blood, and excrement then fight as you surface, it was too much that I had those thoughts to make it easier for us. We were dealing with drakes back then dad, mindless, flightless dragons, vicious and unpredictable. They are not the same as the ones that we have, drakes can only be tamed and enslaved before you can control them- our dragons are different, they know and understand love, compassion, loss, happiness, and family."

"But the Yggdrassil drakes are different, they know nothing except their own instincts. If you are a threat they try to kill you, if you are not a threat they will still kill you."

Stoick sighed and sat down, Gobber clapped him on the back and gently said, "Boy, your father mean no harm. Its just that your ideas are all good, dangerous aye, it is dangerous. But the Dragon Carrier ship had been beneficial for Berk as it is, we use it as a raiding platform since it carries twice as much as our largest longships. So you see, its not that bad. We won't do the carpet fire bombing-"

"Thor's Beard! You read about that?"

"Yes, yes, but again how can we even do that, it's not like we have something or someone to command a thousand dragons at-"

Realization hit all three of them as the large wing beats of a large dragon swooped over them with other much smaller wing beats. Hiccup looked at Gobber and his father and he breathed, "Mother-"

"Odin's beard-"

"I saw mother command a whole nest full of dragons using her staff."

The Chief looked down thinking, his mind running in full gear as Gobber said it out loud, "Valka could make a thousand dragons sweep down and burn everything on a town."

Hiccup again shook his head and failed to look at his father's eyes, "What else did you read from my diary dad?"

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A few minutes before

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Valka, and the 1st Generation swooped down into the Dragon Hangar, the trip to the Nest went great. They did not run into any trouble and they managed to reach the Nest in no time at all. They quickly counted the eggs, the newly hatched, and the added dragons to the Nest. Fishlegs fainted as he beheld the Alpha Male of the nest, and all eyes goggled at the sight of more than a thousand dragons. The dragons flew in a circular pattern, a thrumming sound dominated the cave as a thousand wing flapped together in a crescendo of organized chaos. The twins got in trouble because of the babies basically not listening to anything or everything they have to say, not even the Alpha Male was safe with the numerous babies gamboling in front of his face.

But, they didn't take too much time and they quickly returned to Berk just after the sun sets.

They all headed for the Mead Hall with Astrid trailing behind, she was adjusting her furry parka and made a detour towards the blacksmith to resharpen her utility knife. Yep, trust a Viking girl to carry a utility knife every single time she goes out not just for protection, but also for having a handy-dandy knife. Makes sense.

She was not surprised though to see some lights dancing on the inside. She crept to the sides and puts her ear to the closed windows. Astrid gasped as she heard Hiccup almost shouting at the Chief and Gobber.

"Dad, I didn't go there for a picnic. I got slashed everyday and I need an outlet! Writing that diary was my outlet, its an island of sanity for me! And those ideas I deemed too crazy and violent cannot see the light of day!"

"So, because of that I will burn this diary now. My mind is crazy back then, and my mind is not really straight, dad, this is genocidal weapons I thought of. Back in Asgard we made it, and we used it."

Silence, then Stoick asked, "What do you mean genocidal?"

Her love was also silent for a moment then he began, "Dad, Lord Odin can destroy a whole civilization with a throw of his spear. But, I designed numerous weapons, with Lord Loki and they were just cruel and inhuman. A sphere of my own design that carried the power of the universe that could sweep a civilization in fire that is brighter than the sun. It would be dropped from the sky by me, because I could fly without the aid of a machine or magic, just something natural like a dragon."

"This is insane son, there is no object that could contain the power of the sun, or even the universe."

"Trust me dad, Lord Odin has one, Lord Loki probably has two-"

"What?" Stoick's voice sounded confused and panicked, "What are you telling me?"

"Please, just listen to me- these weapons could not be known to man. It would change everything."

There was the sound of scraping wood and the gasping sound of Gobber as something was obviously thrown into the furnace.

"What are you doing?"

"Destroying it-" Hiccup's voice said over the partition, "-I choose to burn it. To remove the sanity that I wrote from ever coming again into light."

A long pregnant silence descended then inaudible whispers were exchanged. Astrid just sits tight and waits as the scraping of chairs on wood were heard as the large footfalls of Stoick and Gobber leaving the blacksmiths still conversing about the issue they were arguing. She held back as the lights were extinguished and Hiccup opened the door outside.

He passed her quickly with the brisk pace he took, she had some difficulty following him with the silent walking because of his pace. But she managed to catch up to him, making him turn at the last step with a grin she wanted to slap right off his face.

"Holy crap, I hate your smile right now you troll."

Hiccup's smile grew even more as he caught Astrid stalking him, he turned playful in an instant.

"Well, you were doing good Astrid, everything went perfectly, and to prove my point turn around and look at the path you took-" he made her turn and she saw her footprint embedded in the soft earth. Her boot pattern was erratic and had uneven depths in them. Also none of them pointed directly at Hiccup's direction, except for one.

"You were flawless love," the Heir began, "But you headed straight towards me at the end- and I heard you because of that."

She frowned at that, "That's not fair! I was silent as the wind-"

"-not as silent as an Elf though, but you're much more beautiful than an elven woman."

Hiccup kept silent as he took her hand and pulled her body towards his, they hugged tightly and gave each other a chaste kiss on the lips. Well, maybe not too chaste for their liking.

"So, want to talk about your problems?" their hands came together as they walk towards the Mead Hall, "You were pretty upset in there."

He huffed a lungful of air and said, "Remember how I told you that I'm a bad man?"

She nodded and he continued, "It's not just about fighting battles, bleeding all around and jumping in and out of trenches. Sweeping caverns off of enemies, but also making weapons to- to effectively kill more persons as it is."

"Do you regret it?"

"Not really, except the thought of me making weapons that could kill people indiscriminately."

Astrid frowned, "How can you kill an army indiscriminately? When you hold a sword, an axe or any weapon you hold a weapon in your hand and you point it at your enemy. Point over if you managed to stab him in the sweet spot."

He laughed a little as his free hand caressed her reddish cheeks, "Imagine a weapon that looks like a ball, barely larger than our hand. A shiny copper ball that is warm to the touch because it holds so much power in it. If it is released it will destroy mountains."

"That's pretty awesome."

"Not really," his voice turned bitter and she caught it, they were nearing the Mead Hall and she stopped walking. He was surprised a bit at her movement, but knowing Astrid she would want to know the rest, "I used it once, I was compelled to use it once- well, ordered to deploy it once."

Green eyes and blue eyes met together as she wordlessly prodded him. He coughed clearing his throat and he continued, "I dropped it from a height that we have not even reached here in Midgard. The air was so thin that Toothless even had problems breathing and we had to do it on a very unsafe level."

"How far from the surface?"

"20,000 feet."

Her eyes bulged out and she almost smacked him, but he managed to duck quickly out of the way. "You are so- oh Odin's ghost! We didn't even exceed 10,000 feet and you go more than that!? Oh you idiot you could have been killed from suffocation!"

"I'm not really thinking about dying because Lord Loki assured me I could survive at that height, I was more concerned about the blast radius and its following firestorm," she didn't interrupt, but her hard gaze made him continue, "When I dropped it from that height, Lord Loki made conditions to make sure that I would be safe before it exploded, one of them is that it should impact the ground first, and second must be touched by someone that is a sentient being."

"I got away pretty far before it exploded, and explode it did. The fire pillar was brighter than the sun, it incinerated everything in that city. From the citadel, the fortified houses, including the underground bunkers were burned. There was literally nothing inside the blast radius of about 1 mile, then a great mushroom cloud of heat and fire expanded and went up the heavens purging the skies of clouds, while a great roaring sound expanded from the blast knocking away everything and everyone within a couple of miles- as a comparison, if we were to drop the same weapon on the Great Hill in the middle of our island. We would be nothing more than timber now, men, women, child, old and young, none are spared and all are burned."

Astrid's eyes glazed somewhat at the revelation and she hugged Hiccup tighter, "That is pretty horrific, I mean, you designed a weapon for the Gods?"

"It was just an idea I had after we started dropping fire barrels from large trebuchets from atop some hills."

"-and then what?" they continued their walk and headed for the door towards the Mead Hall.

"Lord Odin deemed it too dangerous for a Midgardian to be instrumental in its deployment- well, actually he said it was too early for a Midgardian to wield such a weapon so he sealed it inside the Vault within his Halls and we spoke none of it anymore."

"What was the name of the weapon?" she asked curiously as they stepped inside the Mead Hall, "And why did Lord Odin said it was too early?"

Hiccup shrugged his shoulders, "I really don't know, but he said we were 400 years too early to make that weapon. I didn't really get it much, especially since his explanation made no sense whatsoever, but they gave me the honor of naming it and I named it _Plutonium. _The Greek's own God of the Underworld."

"Pretty poetic huh?"

"Yeah," he readily agreed, "It's not like you get to bury anything else, you have nothing but ashes left, it was as if a God from the Underworld snatched everyone and everything away, hence, the name _Plutonium_."

Astrid led him into the bubbling cauldron where they served the meals and offered their food trays. The kitchens were commanded by the Viking women, and there was a shifting of responsibility especially on the meal times, but there would always be one Mess Mother and that is Astrid's aunt, Dahlia Hofferson.

Dahlia smiled as she saw her niece and the Heir of Berk falling in line, "Well, what can I get you two love birds?"

"What do you have Dahlia?"

"We have whale in thick stew, or penguin meat and blubber in some honey sauce, some black bread with butter, plus tea if you want them."

Astrid smiled and offered her tray, "I'll have the whale stew, and tea with black bread."

"All right lass," her auntie filled her tray with her order and she walked off, but not before slipping half an orange on her tray. She shooed her favorite niece off after saying, "This belongs to your father's ration, but I like you better- shoo along now dear."

"I'll have the penguin, with black bread, no butter and do we have ale available?"

"Aye, for you Hiccup the stores would be open," she walked inside the pantry and came out with a bottle of mead, "Don't let Gobber see you have that, I think he be saving that for an occasion? But what the hell eh? He drinks it by the barrel anyway, now move along now."

Hiccup and Astrid walked to a table and sat beside each other. They were about to start eating when a tall young man stood in front of them and they were forced to look up at him. It was Captain Svail, "Svail! You're back!" Astrid jumped up and went over the other side and hugged her favorite cousin. Unlike the blonde young woman, he was considered a part of the 2nd generation since he also became a Rider after Gustav imprinted with Fanghook. Regardless, Hiccup treats him as a brother and welcomes him with a pat on the shoulder and a firm clasp of their hands.

"Its good to see you Svail," exclaimed Hiccup, "Where have you been?"

"Haven't anyone told you? I command our finest longship, the _'Sea Wing'_ on its voyages- well, recently we captured a supposed pirate ship," he hesitated a bit and said, "May I join you?"

"Of course," Astrid eagerly said as she resumed her seat, not everyone can join Hiccup's inner circle so easily, "Set yourself down and tell us about your adventures,"

"In truth, there was more to the ship than just mismatched ship's weapons and exotic weapons-"

"I know, I saw the _'Sea Wing'_ fight from Amon Sul... I must say, you pilot that longboat as if you are the boat itself."

"Not really," he blushed a bit, "I have excellent crew, including the Nightmare Wing Leader."

"Oh? Anyone particular we know?" Hiccup asked with a bite from his penguin.

"The Wing Leader is Gustav son of Lars-"

He looked up at the sound of the familiar name, "Really? Wasn't he the one that tried copying Snotlout, including reversing Hookfang's name?"

Svail nodded eagerly, "That's the one, he led the Nightmare Wing flawlessly considering this was supposed to be their first deployment. The rest that was selected to join his Wing, are the twins Bjami and Dahril sons of Hjord, and their supporting tail member is Vigdis Agustdottir."

"Agust? Agust Longson of the _Mundr Trading Union_?" the Heir of Berk frowned, "The trader who rivaled Johann?"

"Exactly."

Astrid speared a piece of juicy whale meat and offered it to Hiccup, the gesture was not lost to him and he accepted the food with a smile. Svail tried not to look unembarrassed, but blushed miserably, "You two are so annoyingly sweet, my teeth just hurts. Hiccup, you changed my cousin- you managed to bring out the feminine side of her and it just makes me happy for the both of you."

"I'm feminine enough Svail," she spoke through clenched teeth.

Her cousin scoffed playfully, "Speak for yourself, a feminine woman doesn't swing around an axe all day. You're beautiful cousin, I grant you that, but one cannot dismiss you act like a man. Especially when you quarrel with Uncle Bjornn."

"Bah!" Astrid waved him off with her hand, "Sod off, this is what I am. And so far it has worked for me, little did I know that the great Dragon Master would fall to my clutches."

"Aha, so you did put a love spell on me!" Hiccup accused playfully, "That explains my morbid attraction to you for such a long time!"

"And since when did I put the love spell on your person?"

The Heir of Berk smiled and said, "Ever since I saw you carrying your Uncle Finn's axe, with your one piece woolen dress and twin blonde pig-tails, with matching Viking horned helm. It was then that I found out I had this- this 'thing' for you, and... Thor's hammer, I'm just happy that the spell hasn't stop working ever since. And I'm thankful for the chance to finally be with you Astrid."

Svail quickly finished his meal and muttered, "Oh, beard of Thor- get married already!"

Hiccup kissed Astrid tenderly on her cheek and said, "In due time dear Svail, in due time."

"By the way, before you turn in for the night, do you mind for an emergency meeting with the town leaders? There's a prisoner that I wish everyone to meet."

Intrigued, the young man nods as the Captain of the _'Sea Wing'_ stood up and respectfully takes his leave. Astrid turns to him and smiled, "So, does that mean we won't get to go to the bathhouse together?"

"Astrid," Hiccup smiled at her and kissed her again, "Why should I let a small meeting stop me from going with you?"

.

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**To be continued...**

**Author's note:**

It has come to my attention that this story has been the favorite of exactly 165 people! And is being followed by 235 people, if we subtract 165 from 235, then we have an additional 70 people that's waiting for my update.

Thank you all for your time... it feels good to know that I have gotten your attention.

I promise to make the most out of the story so that you can enjoy what I devote almost all of my free time into.

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Cheers,

Scarabeye3000


	28. Chapter 28

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Guest review #1: I want to make a wedding too, but not yet. (^_^)

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**Shout out to, SMr. Freeze****, TheShadoWWorrior , Unbreakable Warrior, The Viking Stranger, dracologistmaster **for their signed reviews.

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**Disclaimer: Any characters mentioned are all under copyright. This work is purely fan-made.**

**Title: From Asgard to Midgard**

**Author: Scarabeye 3000**

**Chapter 28: _'Scouting is useful!'_**

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Island of Berk - Mead Hall

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Hiccup sat in-between his father and the blacksmith Gobber the Belch, they were gathered around the semi-round table that the Mead Hall had specially for clan meetings and special gatherings. As such, the semi-formal meeting now presided by the Haddocks is attended by the head of each clan. Leaders chosen not just for their prowess, but for their just and sharp mind. A knack for administration and a heart of a leader that would ensure the benefit of his clan above himself. They all gathered around the table as Captain Svail, cousin of Astrid Hofferson, and chosen Captain and Commander of the _'Sea Wing'_ the most advanced longship of Berk stood before them as he begins his saga.

Svail, resplendent in his livery of fine tunic and twin swords behind his back tells his tale of his engagement with the supposed pirate ship.

"So, our longship performed extremely well?"

"Yes sir," Captain Svail nods respectfully at Stoick, "Well, for a boat that has her size and length, she easily flies to the water and cuts through the wave quickly. We caught up with the pirate ship in less than an hour from the moment we set off."

"That is good to hear then! The additional weight of the dragons didn't made much difference and the longship functioned exactly like a longship should," Stoick concluded, "Let us commend then the Ingermanns for their impressive shipwright skills and outstanding ingenuity in accordance to the plans supplanted to us by Hiccup."

"AYE!"

"HEAR! HEAR!"

Jarl Fjall stood up and accepted his praise, bowing his head slightly his heart though swelled as he took pride in his clan's ability to manufacture things that clearly benefited Berk and also earned a few honeyed words from their Chief. And it never did hurt to accept praises from his peers.

"We must also commend the Nightmare Leader, Gustav Son of Lars on his excellent control and command of his team," Svail exalted the young man as he opened a palm towards the blushing teen who was sitting on the farthest chair. He tried to look smaller, but his curved horned helm and blushing face made him an even bigger target, "He may be younger than most of us, but his skills was shown by the way he followed his orders and executed the crippling of the enemy ship."

"AYE!"

"HEAR! HEAR!"

Gustav also stood up and with bitten lips he bowed slightly not meeting the gaze of the elders of his Clan. He tried not to fidget as he felt all eyes gaze unto him, all their attention focused on one focal point which is him. Why in the world was he even included in this meeting here? He was just following orders! He constantly thanked the Gods for a successful mission, but his Captain would have none of that humility crap, he would parade him if the Council would let him. _By the Gods,_ he prayed,_ don't let him please!_

"Now then, Captain Svail you have brought us a prisoner"

The addressed man bowed his head a little and gestured behind him, from there a tied-up prisoner was hefted by two burly guards as they made him step up near the hearth of the middle of the room. Svail quickly beckoned the tied-up prisoner to the firelight and all the surrounding Vikings had a good first look at his face. Eret stood ramrod straight afraid to show a hint of weakness, his cockiness and pride still evident with his protruded chin and high forehead as his eyes scanned in futility the darkened faces as the fire illuminated the front of his vision too much to be of use to him. A large man stood on the left of the middle man and said, "State your name prisoner."

He cleared his throat and said, "My given name is Eret, Son of Eret, I am an adventurer-"

"A vagrant? Bah! What use is this vagrant to us?"

"Patience Spitelout," the large shadow still spoke to the one on the far right, "Let us wait for them to finish."

"That is a load of rubbish Jarl Fjall! He's lying through his teeth," Captain Svail who stood beside him looked at the prisoner incredulously, "My crew found tools for dragon trapping at their ship. Bola launchers that could set a three stone or even a four stone bola net up to a probably 20 to 30 meters into the sky. I also found these at the Captain's cabin-" he threw down the 'wanted notices' they found at his cabin in front of him, Eret shook his head as the gathered leaders took it and began passing it around some.

Murmurs circulated the Mead Hall, which also doubles as the Meeting Hall. Surrounded by Berkians and their fearsome Chief, his men chained and imprisoned, his ship heavily damaged or probably scuttled already for all he know. Damn it all, why didn't he think of everything, its like a bloody disease or something that-

"So, you have come to Berk to take my son's head to a Coalition that has been hostile with Berk from the start? And doing so, for a large sum of three chest full of gold?" this man here is Stoick, he was sure that he was he since he seemed so big, and the voice boomed with authority. A prickle of fear reached into his chest and he gulped audibly for those nearest to hear.

"W- well, the truth is that I was a former trapper for dragons," he said hesitantly, no use riling up the natives of course, "And uh- I uh- I used to work for uh- for Drago Bludvist," he sheepishly said while shrugging his shoulders.

He sweated as the crowd of darkened Vikings in front of him grew silent even more making him sweat his hands as he also felt very, very uncomfortable for blatant reasons. Then finally, a young looking man with deep green eyes stood up and eyeballed him from head to toe. He analyzed the new Viking in his eyes and saw nothing out of the ordinary, oddly he was armored in a fine combination of green scale and leather armor, an unruly hair that would match a Viking any day and a small short braid to indicate his status probably, a handsome face that women would definitely find attractive not that he wasn't handsome too to begin with, and two swords that conveniently rested on his hip and behind his back. His face had the greenest tint you could imagine and realization dawned on him quickly.

So, this is the infamous Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III. Terrific.

"You said that you worked for Drago right?" Eret nodded as Hiccup asked his question, "What do you mean you _'used'_ to work for him?"

Eret, son of Eret shrugged his shoulders and replied, "Well, he's dead so its in the past now, my crew and I we uh- trap dragons for him, cage them, and then ship them off to Drago to fill our quota on his demands of Dragons every week."

"He's a nasty piece of customer though, he doesn't like failure very much especially in our quota-" the guards tensed as he pulled apart his tunic a bit, but Hiccup raised his hand and they calmed down, Eret exposed his chest revealing a fire branding in the middle of his chest that looked exactly like his necklace, "-he could be very generous though in doling out- erm, punishments to encourage to do better next time."

"I see," Hiccup sat down, but his eyes, even if in the low light eerily glowed and the Vikings around him went silent, "Now that you have given us your information- and you obviously want to capture me and bring me to the Coalition, what are you plans now at Berk?"

He was stumped, their plan was to have a look see at Berk and judge if the bounty was well enough worth it. But with Berk intercepting their ship they had no choice except to fight a lenghty engagement. However, unlike his old ship that's they probably scuttled now, their longship proved far superior and their dragon air force was unlike they ever faced. Sure, they captured a whole family of dragons before, and they even captured at one time a Boneknapper, but having humans fly dragons is one thing that they could not consider. The dragons were faster, and much more devastating to fight with instead of them doing so with their instincts.

"I have no idea, we just wanted to see you that's all," Eret shook his head, of course it was a half-lie, but they didn't have to know that right? "I wanted to see who was the man who killed Drago Bludvist, because honestly speaking this freedom thing doesn't really suit me like my tunic here. Me and my crew, hell, my clan had been under Drago for so long that I just lost my purpose in life with him around no more. I- I uh- I just don't know what to do anymore."

He could feel their eyes boring into him, he could sense their mistrust, their apprehension of his vicinity at Berk. Their gazes held contempt of his trespass at Berk, and their malcontent at his continued existence. Why are Vikings such as this one so secular anyway!?

"Release him."

Seriously, he couldn't understand why- wait? Release him?

Shouts erupted as Eret stepped back a bit, but the gaze that held his eyes were of Hiccup, the Heir of Berk and killer of Drago Bludvist. Amidst the shouting and the arguments, the Heir of Berk remained steady and calm, Eret's eyes betrayed confusion and befuddlement. What's he going on about? Wasn't he supposed to be condemned for trespassing unknowingly, fighting their navy, and having the knowledge of him being a semi-bounty hunter that is present here on their island to capture him and present him to a client that unscrupulously promised a large sum of gold that- BLOODY HELL!

"Tell me your reason son," Stoick didn't raise his voice, nor did he look at Hiccup sitting beside him, "As your father, I cannot have another psychopath turned loose around Berk for your safety-"

_'Psychopath? Oh gee, thanks exalted Chief, I'm so glad you think I'm a psychopath,' _Eret thought wryly.

"-not to mention the engagement of the _'Sea Wing'_ that have expended resources for that skirmish. Jarl Fjall-" he turned to the mountainous man who stood before, "-state what are all our expenses with the engagement with their boat."

The large mountain man that talked first stood up again and opened a leather-bound, bark leafed notebook, "According to my cousin who holds Amon Sul, the mobilization of the _'Sea Wing'_ consisted of 20 ballista bolts fired, 12 bola bolts fired, 1 bola launcher damaged by counter-battery, 6 tower shields pierced by projectiles that is in need of slight repair to close the arrow holes in them, 7 wooden shields shattered also in need of intense repair and to be re-bolted, 2 swords lost probably to the sea, 4 blunt swords that needs to be sharpened- no food or water provisions taken since it was a short battle. That doesn't even include the wounded-"

"How many casualties?"

Fjall looked down at his notes and his eyes widened, "We have no casualties my Chief, a stroke of good luck, but we have 12 crew members wounded. Nothing serious though, just a little visit to the healers, some ointment, the crew is thankful for the new armor design though."

Stoick laughed a little, "Thanks to your son's breakthrough Fjall, and with Hiccup's prodding they managed to solve one of the problems with the recent up-armor we have."

"Now, we go back to the question- give me a damn good reason for letting this man go in the midst of Berk."

"He speaks the truth father I see it in his eyes, he is ignorant- nay, unsure about his new found freedom and now he acts like a babe in the wilderness. A ship without a working sail, and no sailors to guide her, he is aimless and confused," Hiccup took a sip of some mead and sat down comfortably on his wooden chaird, "Aimless for he just lost his one purpose for so many years, however, I am sure that by letting him go at Berk we could easily _'persuade'_ him to help us trace this Coalition fortress that has eluded us for some time now."

The Chief shook his head, "It's too risky Hiccup."

"We have to trust him at least, I have a plan that would flush our enemies out into the open-"

"He has given us very little motive to trust him-

"-just trust him through me then."

"Very well, very well," Stoick sighed in exasparation, "We will let him go and even refurbish his old ship, this plan would be discussed tonight-" groans from the crowd was silenced at once by the Chief's warhammer banging on the table, "-it will be discussed tonight, hence tomorrow we would begin preparations for this endeavor."

The Chief signaled to Fjall and said, "Put it in writing all that we have discussed so far, put Astrid Hofferson, Snotlout Jorgenson, and the twins on standby to await further orders."

"Wait a minute, hang on!" Gobber rolled his eyes as Jarl Fjall stopped writing, Hiccup raised his hand and stood up, "Why am I left out of this father? Its just a reconnaissance mission at the tops and I'm planning this- why am I not coming too?"

Stoick the Vast sighed as everyone looked uncomfortably at Hiccup as he stood indignantly and defiantly in front of his father, "My goodness, not this argument again- Son, you are a very important person for Berk. If you are in way- god forbid gets killed by a stray enemy getting lucky, or an arrow imbued with magic or whatever witchcraft their using that can easily put you in mortal danger. Then, as your father, and your Chief, I must lookout for your safety, plus the plan as it seems to be shaping up is just a reconnaissance mission. Your peers have been training for weeks and weeks to no end, I suppose it is time to see if their skills and abilities have indeed improved, in any case, you said it lightly yourself since its _'just a recon mission'_ so, clearly in my eyes you don't need to go- end of discussion Hiccup."

"But that is too soon, a recon mission such as this high importance cannot be left to chance and I must be there to tactically have hold of the situation-"

"That is not entirely accurate Hiccup," a figure from the shadows moved and Eret's eyes goggled at the sight, "Of course they could never be at our caliber, but the skills they were taught should be more than sufficient for these so-called lowlifes. And I completely agree with Chief Stoick here, if your friends can't show what they're made of on a mission that mattered, then they shouldn't have trained in the first place."

"However, it is with utmost certainty that I ensure their survival for I myself trained them-" Master Portio's cold voice emanated from under his hood, his silky voice was smooth to the ears yet the alabaster skin and the unnatural sallow in them mystified Eret to no end, "-I believe and personally endorse their participation in this endeavor provided that I... come with them."

The last word came out like a smooth breathe of air.

_'Frakking hell- this is bullshit,'_ Hiccup rebelled in his mind as he shook his head and sat back down to his chair. With the endorsement of a senior in his White Hand outfit, his father had no more opposition to the mission. Not even he would contradict his senior, it simply didn't happen in their discipline, it would be like heresy in their vows of fealty to not stand united. Bollocks! He had to agree at all cost.

He reluctantly gave his nod, but not without giving the most sour expression his face could give.

"With the approval of their mentor Master Portio, Jarl Fjall record an addendum on the mission, Captain Svail would use the _'Sea Wing'_ accompanied by Eret as guide to the Coalition Stronghold."

"Err-" Eret's voice seemed to squeak, "Why am I also included?"

Hiccup sighed, "Think of this as your commuted death sentence, do this for us and we completely release you- including your ship and crew, if not, then we all hang you on your neck at our stronghold's ramparts. That's for you and your men of course mind you-"

"We would begin preparations tomorrow and the shoving off should be in a day or two."

Satisfied that all had been recorded, Stoick then turned to the two guards standing behind Eret and said, "Remove the prisoner and let him be, let him wander off for all we care. We'll keep some of his crew anyway so he won't go far... the tavern would be good."

As he was led away Captain Svail removed his bindings and led him outside, he pointed to a distant building and said, "See that, that's the tavern- Your men will also be led there, wait for them."

With that he walked back inside to the meeting, Eret sighed into the wind and shook his head. Taking in the irony of what happened, with their group trying to get into Berk, abduct Hiccup for his prize and leave without nobody noticing. Well, isn't this the best balls-up frakking thing to happen to them in all the archipelago. I guess he should be thankful, he was captured, he was tried with his hands tied behind his back, then in a sudden twist of miracle, being released and allowed to _'look around' _Berk, the one place he was trying to get into.

Oh the irony.

"Figures," Eret sighed to the wind and headed for the tavern.

.

.

The Green Dragon

.

Astrid sat down on one of the tables and contemplated on the minutes of the meetings. From what she knew, the meeting held only the most senior of every clan member, the Haddocks which is the leader of clans and their branch families, the Hoffersons, Ingermanns, and the Thornstons. Not that she was involved directly because its just the Chief and his closest confidants. Her cousin was also there to probably discuss about the supposed pirate ship he captured. Her friends, the twins, Fishlegs, Snotlout and Camicazi surrounded her also nursing their drinks.

They had numerous wounds, bruises, even torn clothing, but their eyes held the confidence that stemmed from the skill and hardwork they put into everything they were trained for. Oh, not to mention the pain and suffering- the frakking pain.

"Man, my knuckles hurt-" Snotlout said as he took a drink from his tankard of mead, "-I totally missed that shield."

"Remember what the Master said, channel your anger Snot," Fish interjected, "It's not every time you can use brute force to effect the results you want. Mainly you just run into a brick wall and 'splat'-"

A young man approached and puts his tankard down, Hiccup's inner group looked at the newly arrived and smiled up at him.

"Behold our fearless leader!" Tuff raised his mug and smiled slyly, "Had any rendezvous lately?"

Hiccup frowned as he sat down beside Astrid eliciting a gentle smile from the blonde girl, "What the hell are you talking about again?"

"Well, you know-" the crazier of the twins shrugged his shoulders, "Something about the way you and Astrid acted after she escorted you out to rest after Master Portio wanted to find out how mobile your body is now."

Ruff giggled beside him, "You sure took your time huh?"

"You two are just so-" Hiccup shook his head and took a sip off of his mug, "I'll have you know, that father just approved a mission for all four of you."

"Really?"

The Heir nodded, "Captain Svail, opened a discussion about a reconnaissance mission towards the Coalition Citadel."

"Huh? Weren't they the one that almost got you captured? And the one that has put the bounty on your head?"

"Exactly, but now I believe they want Astrid, Snot and you two-" Hiccup pointed at the twins, "-to come in and have a look around."

All mouths hung open, until Camicazi and Fishlegs hands came up, "WHAT ABOUT US THEN!?"

"Hold on you two, Fishlegs I think your father would want you to stay because your training with Gotti and the healers starts tomorrow," Hiccup turned to Camicazi and he tried not to wince at her indignant face, "Cami, I think father would want you to stay here, because if anybody would see you riding a dragon, then it totally defeats the purpose of you being a prisoner in everyone's eyes. So, in that effect you would stay here at Berk."

"Well, that's just great!" Camicazi threw her hand up in mock annoyance, "They can leave and I stay here all cooped up in this cubbyhole you call an island!"

"I can't believe we're actually going! Finally, a chance to show them my awesomeness!"

"I'll show those Coalition boys whose the bloody boss!"

"Wait a minute! Stop! Everybody stop and shut up!" Astrid exclaimed, "How in the world did you even know everything about that? You're not even in the meeting and you told me you would go there and not here."

Hiccup shrugged his shoulders and just smiled sheepishly, "I can't see why your complaining that I'm here."

"Because it doesn't make sense, oh screw this!" Astrid exclaimed again as she stood up, drained her mug and dragged a surprised Hiccup outside. Much to the amusement of those left behind. All of the Dragon Riders looked on at the two retreating form and smiled at each other.

Marriage huh? Not long now. Maybe.

.

"Astrid! What are you doing?"

She kept silent, her insistent grip on his gloved hand didn't let up, nor her haste upon which he dragged him away. Their dragons were already at the stables, Stormfly fed and bedded, while Toothless was already back home already stretched out on Hiccup's floor. They marched up towards the watchtower near the catapult at the sea, the blonde Valkyrie and the Heir of Berk took a seat on the place where they used to gather after dragon training. With a nod of her head the two Viking lookouts that was stationed there took their cue and stood up to leave them alone.

Finally alone Astrid plopped down on one of the numerous stools and small chairs and looked at Hiccup's eyes.

"Hiccup, be honest with me."

He stopped smiling as her voice turned soft and serious, its strength increasing it in its entirety as she seemed to threaten him with every syllable.

"Of- of course my lady."

"Who is the one attending the meeting?"

Hiccup bit his lower lip and gulped audibly as he tried to say innocently, "What do you mean?"

Astrid's eyes turned to slits and she said menacingly, "You promised to be honest."

"I- I know Astrid, I guess I should have been more honest with you about my abilities."

Astrid shrugged her shoulders and sat with her back straighter in front of him, "Enlighten me then."

The young man sighed and stood up, he walked in front of Astrid and drew his swords, the twin swords of such excellent quality gleamed in the firelight. Stabbing both on the wooden floor, the young woman noticed that one of the swords is slightly glowing while the other one remained inert and quite unremarkable it seemed. The red sword, who she knew that he named _Agni _was not glowing, instead it seemed darkened a deep contrast to what it usually looked like._ Rudra_ on the other hand seemed to pulse with an inner light and those traits mystified her in a way.

Hiccup then began murmuring words she didn't quite comprehend, like a whisper to the winds yet its meaning evaded her to no end. She was still deep in concentration when suddenly the bluish sword glowed intensely and a gust of wind began to batter them. Considering their location, which is a tower near the sea side, it doesn't seem odd at first, but a form began spinning beside Hiccup as Astrid stared with her two eyes steadily growing as large as dinner plates.

A small tornado formed in front of her on the exact side of Hiccup, it spun faster and faster materializing into something solid and substantial. She saw the feet form first, then the arms, legs, even the amputated one formed up much to her surprise. With the wind intensifying she could only see glimpses of the transformation and Hiccup merely closing his eyes as the entity formed another _'Hiccup'_ right before her eyes. A last gust of wind where she clenched her eyes shut and finally it all stopped, as her blue eyes recovered, she could see another one had joined them.

Astrid can only gape as Hiccup's 'twin brother' sat on the stool beside Hic- no, no, no, this is obviously someone who looked like Hiccup down to the build, the scars, the hair, the eyes, even the bloody peg-leg!

"What the hell-"

"Hi there!" the _'Hiccup'_ who was sitting down puts up a right hand in greeting, "I'm _Rudra!_ Nice to meet you Lady Astrid... I must say, you really do look ravishing."

Hiccup, or rather the other Hiccup that was standing interjected while blushing profusely, "Would you quit that please! _Agni_ wouldn't want to hear you being like this!"

Rudra, at the sound of Agni's name sobered up at once and sat up straighter. He looked innocently at both of them and smiled like the good boy that he is.

"Astrid-" the Heir of Berk gestured to her then to the other 'Hiccup', "-this is Rudra, the spirit inside my sentient sword."

Oh Odin's ghost.

Her eyes were wide and her face registered absolute shock and disbelief. She had an inkling before of what his abilities were, oh my Gods of Valhalla, it makes absolute sense. Loki, the Trickster God, was his master and now she just had an idea of his abilities. He just wouldn't shut up about it, misdirection, confusion, guile, and cunning, damnation it makes sense.

The skill he used when he fought Snotlout where he vanished in a puff of smoke, the hidden weapons on his gauntlets, the level of skill that he uses his swords, the uncanny ability to wiggle out of predicaments and his way with words!

That last one alarmed Astrid to no end.

"Did you seduce me Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III in anyway that I was not aware of?" she suddenly stood up and drew her axe, Rudra also stood up and took a place behind the real Hiccup, "Did you- did you use _'the Word'_?"

You could practically feel the wave of anger from Astrid as she approached, no stalked Hiccup. He was standing rooted on the spot as she aimed the 'U' of her axe at his neck and he looked back at the shaking 'Rudra' just behind him. Rudra/Hiccup shrugged his shoulders at the real one as if to say, _'Don't look at me you fool!'_

"Yes, I did Astrid... but I couldn't help it."

"When?" her voice softened, but she didn't lower her axe.

"The first time I came back from Asgard, when I saw you- I said _'mine'_ and I couldn't help it, but I used a bit of my _'abilities'_ and you were undoubtedly affected by it."

She frowned, yes, that would explain the stab of fear and excitement she felt as he read his lips. Her scowl returned and she continued, "Do you swear now that there was no other else?" she was pacified somewhat as he made a cross on his heart, she grunted and said "You were explaining your abilities."

"My dear, would it be more sensible if you could lower your weapon and-"

"Shut your frakking mouth-" she exploded at him, "-and continue!"

Hiccup cleared his throat, "Ah- ahem- umm... as you can see, I can create a copy of myself using the spirits of _Agni and Rudra_ that reside within my swords. The copies can last for at least 3 hours, or at most 5 hours. I can also imbue arcane arts in my words so as to affect anyone that I am currently speaking with. Combat-wise, I can thread the shadows to _'temporarily'_ vanish in thin air and reappear to a space that I wish to appear into, although the range is quite short."

"What else did you learn?" her weapon was finally lowered and Rudra/Hiccup and the real Hiccup managed to breathe a sigh of relief.

"So far, those are the skills that Master Loki taught me- in truth, they are all a downgrade from the things he could conjure up in a blink of an eye."

Astrid sat down and looked at the flame, "What do you mean Hiccup?"

"What I mean is that he can conjure 100 copies of himself without drawing power from any other source, he can do so in a blink of an eye, change their appearance at will and act independently of him," taking her cue to sit down, Rudra and Hiccup took their seats and smiled sheepishly again at Astrid, "It was not my intention to seduce, but for all the things I've said my lady- I have never lied of my emotions to you and for all that happened, my feelings, my love, my desires... everything is real and it is only for you Astrid."

The blonde young woman blushed a bit and tried to look indignant, but a small smile broke her face and she finally looked back at him. Lovingly green eyes met ocean blue ones as she truly smiled at him and shook his head.

"Ok, ok... I may have overreacted and- WHOO!"

At her words, Hiccup suddenly was upon her and embraced her with a strength she could not easily break free from. Their heartbeats sync as she reciprocated his affections, their holds loosened somewhat and their eyes met again.

"Kiss me you useless idiot."

"Okay."

Her chin raised up to him as he was taller than her, as he lowered himself to her and cocked his head to the side. Inches from each other's lips they brushed into each other, a burning need to feel their loved ones tugged at their emotions so carnal that-

_"Hem-hem," _Rudra/Hiccup suddenly cleared his throat on the side as he tried not to look at them about to kiss, "May I just take my leave? I really don't want to see you kissing in front of me boss- your holding me, or rather my hilt anyway with those hands so in a way, I feel so violated-"

Blushing profusely and somewhat embarrassed that Rudra was there, he waved off his hand in a dismissive gesture and Rudra/Hiccup turned into a million small lights before it dissolves to nothingness. He turned back to Astrid expecting a reprimand only to find her smiling back at him, her cheeks reddened by her blush, and a look of catty bashfulness on her eyes.

"I suppose the guards would take their time getting back," she said to him as she motioned for him to sit beside her, "Shouldn't you be giving me a kiss?"

Hiccup can only shook his head, why didn't he just have the courage to approach Astrid then. The irony of it all, well that was everything that was on his mind as he enveloped her in his embrace and finally captured her lips on him once more.

.

Meanwhile

.

With Hiccup and Astrid running off to Gods knows where, the wayward 'Pirate' strode inside barely missing them as everyone inside the tavern turned their eyes to him. There was a few seconds of uncomfortable silence until finally everyone turned back to their drinks. Shrugging his shoulders, he meandered carefully towards an unoccupied table and raised his hand for the bar maid.

Now, generally, the people of Berk go to the Mead Hall to get their occasional buzz. But since there is a meeting happening inside the Halls, it would be quite impossible to do recreation at one time with something serious, so a simple decree by the Chief and a small tavern was opened for the Berkian. Progressively, they could also cater to 'visitors' in case they needed their own buzz. For now though, Eret gave his order and tried to settle down.

So far, the Council of Berk has kept its word of letting him go. It's not like he could leave the island so easily. He's basically a prisoner here until they finish the supposed plan that they were discussing about a while ago.

Summing it up in his memory, in exchange for his compliance, he would get his retrofitted ship back including his crew and as far as they implied, they were welcome to continue their vagrancy to whatever purpose they so desired. Eret shook his head, it was just so simple.

_'Nothing is ever that simple!' _his mind screamed at him as the barmaid puts down a brown jug full of- "Beer? There's beer here?"

"Of course!" the barmaid seemed offended and surprised at his self question, "We had good crops this year and the barley was roasted before it was given the yeast-"

Eret's eyes widened, he has never heard of a Berkian Dark Beer before?

He took a sip and he winced a bit at the rush of sudden flavor on his tongue, his reaction kept the barmaid's brow raised, "My dear, dear barmaid- that has got to be the most flavorful ale I have ever tasted!"

"For sure they are, since only Berk makes it."

"How did it become so flavorful? Mind you, it isn't the Celtic ale or the Germanic ones but-" he took another sip and he shook his head again, "-but my goodness, it could sell for a good price!"

The barmaid winked at him as she walked off, "Oh its simple- we have a trained dragon that can flash-fire the barley to its just right temperature, that way the essence of the barley isn't lost by overcooking or over roasting of the batch."

As she walked away, Eret can only shook his head at the taste. He had never tasted such flavorful ale, mind you, the Germanic shores had some good ones, of course the British and their bitter is something to laud about too, but this Berkians have a probable tie-breaker to them.

Wonder why they haven't exported some yet?

With those lingering thoughts he didn't notice the arrival of his two men, Ug and Teeny walked over to him and he was mildly surprised at their arrival. With a scraping of wood they joined their wayward Captain as he took another sip from his beverage.

"What happened Captain?" the small sidekick of Eret raised his small arm and the barmaid approached with two tankards of ale with her, "Did you made a deal?"

"Aye," Eret nodded, "In exchange for our semi-freedom, I'll bring them to the Coalition Stronghold."

Teeny, a large burly man that showed the weathered face of an old sea dog grunted, "I did warn you Captain... that 'wanted' poster was bad business the moment we took hold of it. We're lucky they didn't hang us on our necks."

"They were thinking about it, to the rafters if my memory serves me right," the Captain had a wry smile, "But as long as we cooperate, the others wouldn't need to fear. Plus, they said that if the recon mission is successful then they refurbish our ship and then send us on our way."

"That's easy."

"They trust us so?"

"Not really, but the Heir of Berk... the same one that I wanted to see for myself intervened on our behalf," Eret shook his head in disbelief, "Who would have thought eh? That a man as young as he is, and already he has that much sway to the ruling party of his village. Well, he shouldn't trust someone so much if I were him. A little cautiousness goes a long way."

"I know, but I can't shake the fact that he was sincere in every way, I mean- he carries himself with such sureness and his words rang with such honesty it makes me a liar just to open my mouth."

Teeny smiled at his Captain, "M-hmm, must have made quite an impression."

"I heard he was scrawny."

"-or short and useless..."

"Haha, a talking fishbone that Heir of Berk or something-"

"-someone once said he carried and then ran in front of two boulders getting stuck in the process! They never found the wooden shield again!"

"HAHA What a _maroon_!?"

"ENOUGH!"

A chair sailed past them as the patrons, Berkians and visitors alike ducked a bit at the large young man who made the stool fly towards them.

"How dare you bad mouth Hiccup-!?" a visibly inebriated Snotlout stood up, his two swords hanging limply on his waist, the other riders with him were also glaring at the gathered pirates, doubtless overhearing what they had to say in Hiccup's name. "You assholes don't even have the guts or the skill to stand up to him- and yet you dare call him a _fishbone_!?"

"Technically Snotlout, he used to be one right?"

"I know Fish! I know that ok?" the Jorgenson snapped at the stouter of the two, "Can you just agree for now? I'm trying to defend Hiccup here!"

Eret stood up, his vision blurred for a second there as he staggered to his feet. Wait, how many tankards have he had? The taste was excellent that he didn't even see that- one, two, four- huh five tankards on their table? He already had three tankards since the other two belonged to Ug and Teeny. Shaking his head he focused to Snotlout as he approached with an unsteady shuffling of his booted feet.

Aroung them, the other patrons were carefully eyeing them. No sound were made, even the barmaid took out a shield from somewhere, figures, considering she's also a Viking.

"Calm down Snotlout!" a girl with twin pig-tails and a petite body for a Viking turned her head to one side and eyed Eret, "You're over-reacting and- helloooo... muscles..."

Ruffnut also stood up and joined Snot on his side, the young man's eyes looked indignant, while her eyes looked extremely... charmed.

"What's your name stranger with very toned muscles?" Ruff's voice and gaze held him steadily.

Snotlout huffed at the young woman beside him, "Please, we're not here to get his name- He's here to greet my fist," for emphasis he smacked his fist to his open palm.

Tensions rising and testosterone clouding the stale air of the tavern, Eret and Snotlout quickly reached each other and went breast to breast. The Berkian quickly noted that while he seemed much more inebriated and stockier to a point, the stranger was taller and packed more muscle in his arms. His skin was the red windburned kind that sailor of the north usually has, his hair was silky black, and his facial tattoos looked just like the ancient Woads of the British Isles.

"State your name stranger!"

"I am Eret, son of Eret-" the Captain of the Pirate crew jutted his chin a bit to look the part of a confident and bravado laced man, "-and what is your name whelp?"

A fist swung at him and the man's face was almost clobbered by the haymaker, but he managed to dodge and only got his nose struck by a grazing hit. Still, it stun him and he was sent staggering a bit, which gave Snotlout the necessary movements to follow through.

"My name is Snotlout-" the Berkian stepped on one of Eret's boots preventing him from stepping away and swung his other fist in a perfect uppercut, "-and don't insult Hiccup again!"

**KRAK!**

Ug and Teeny made no move to help Eret as the young man from Berk smacked their Captain squarely in the jaw. The wayward pirate though seemed to felt nothing, and aided by the black beer his senses was hammered, his brain jostled violently on his brain. Not to worry though, his brain, automatically shuts down to protect itself and his body from further harm.

"See what I told you Snot? Just remember our Master's words- channel your anger and _'splat'!"_

Snotlout gave a small giggle, "You are absolutely right Fish-" and promptly fainted from drunkenness.

.

.

Next day at the Port

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A steady morning breeze pushes the waves on Berk's port, its largest ship that was tied alongside it flew the only flag of Berk that showed not the red skull motif of the Hooligan tribe. Rather it showed the uncovered heraldry of the very first Hiccup, or known in his full name as Hiccup Haddock the 1st. His predecessor, Hiccup the 3rd, went to great lengths and saw the heradlry hidden from a pile of old shields inside their family's crypt at the cemetery.

It featured a dragon being ridden by a human.

Past interpretations of it seemed that it symbolizes the triumph of humans against the dragons, however, with the numerous loss against the fire-breathing reptiles it had lost its fame as a heraldry and was replaced by the more common red skull on any background.

No one actually paid it no mind, until Hiccup suggested that it didn't symbolize victory over the dragons, rather a coexistence that they're currently enjoying right now. As such it proudly flew from the highest mast as the sailors scurried about the ship, Captain Svail, with his identical bear skin cloak and lamellar bronze armor strode forward to the gangplank astride the port and the _'Sea Wing'_.

"I hope you dressed for the occasion Arnar," Svail adjusted his two swords and finally boarded his ship, "We're going to probably take a week."

"Truly? Well, my mother did pack me extra drawers though so I should be set for at least two weeks."

The Captain gave a smile, "Two weeks? My boy we are not going camping- just as I understand a little look-see on a Citadel."

"I know sir, but it does pay to be prepared," brushing his long unruly hair back a little, his helm tied securely to his belt, he hefted his Captain's heavy shield and followed him along.

As they came up to the stern, a young woman with the same bearskin coat and blonde bright hair waved her hand and approached them too.

"Hey! Cousin!"

"Astrid!" Svail visibly smiled, "You were not in the meeting last night, although the Chief said it was a restricted meeting. Your special someone though, Hiccup was there and he had quite the floor for himself."

"I know- hehe," she awkwardly said, not knowing that she had the knowledge that it was actually one of his conjured images that was there, "We're ready though."

"Ah! How about your dragons though?"

"Already stowed at the built-in stables."

"No scuffles I hope?"

"Well," she said unsure, "Our supposed guide and my Tail man is still incapacitated."

Captain Svail looked behind her and saw Snotlout and Eret on raised stretchers as the sailors worked around them. The captured pirate had a purple spot on his jaw that seemed to be swelling while Snotlout snored loudly.

"What happened to them!? And why are they sleeping on my ship!?"

"Relax," she soothed, "Apparently both of them had one too many last night, Snot picked a fight and obviously won with a lucky shot, while our supposed 'guide' was easily knocked out after a few pints."

Svail sighed, "What about Snotlout though?"

"He had one too many."

"Sheesh!"

Chief Stoick, Gobber and Hiccup strode towards the longship, without any other words the Heir of Berk jumped onboard and approached Astrid. His father sighed and shook his head, well he was once young too, "Svail are all your preparations done?"

"Aye Chief! My First mate merely waits my command!"

"Remember, about the new catapult rounds? You light the four fuses first and then fire okay?"

"Yes Gobber, although I reserve my wariness of such an untested weapon."

"Untested?" the blacksmith balked, "Untested you say!? It was Hiccup who tested it in the first place!"

Hiccup looked away from Astrid and protested loudly, "What do you mean tested? I haven't tested anything yet aside from the Dragon Skin!"

Gobber cleared his throat nervously, "Oh dear, cat's out of the bag, anyway why don't you test it out?"

Svail looked miffed as he only shook his head in annoyance, Hiccup finally jumped overboard, but without a final wave from Astrid. Nodding heads all around, the Captain finally looked to his 1st Mate and said, "Let us be on our way."

"Aye sir!" the 1st Mate turned to the sailors waiting and began shouting his orders, "Secure all cargo for sailing, retract the gangplank and push off!"

"Aye sir!"

"Reel in the anchor and unfurl the sails!"

"Aye full sails and trim!" seamen released the ropes holding tied sails and it quickly unfurled in the wind.

"Turn to port and straight ahead out of the bay."

Hiccup, Chief Stoick and Gobber looks on with other Vikings as the _"Sea Wing' _went on its way. Their silence grated on each other as the minutes of the meeting were still fresh on their minds.

"You should have let me go with them."

"You should just prepare for the eventuality that they might request help."

With that the Chief turned with Gobber in tow while Hiccup was left on the port seething with anger. He really should trust them of course, with Master Portio coming with them and all that, but a nagging thought never left him. A thought that something wrong is going to happen and he might be powerless to stop it.

.

Meanwhile, on board the Sea Wing, Astrid and Svail looked on as Berk grew smaller on their eyes.

"You look sad Astrid."

"I'm excited."

"Really? I'm sure you would have been more excited with Hiccup with you here."

"That I am sure, but to do this mission on my own is a very good gauge on what I can and cannot do, it encompasses all that is necessary to prove that we have gained enough knowledge to stand behind him as his equal."

Svail smiled and puts a hand on her shoulder, "I trust you would not endanger yourself too much just too prove your point?"

Astrid smiled mischivieously and said, "I can't promise you that."

"Uhh-" Snotlout finally staggered towards them, "What the hell happened?"

He reeked of ale, sweat, and morning breath, "Snotlout, you smell like a dragon stable! Why don't you get cleaned up?"

"Sure, just make the world stop spinning."

The young woman approached and cuffed his collar, "If you hadn't been drinking too much last night-"

"It's not my fault though, a stranger was uppity about Hiccup and I just lost my temper," Snotlout gave a small laugh, "I sure showed him though!"

"Enough, just get cleaned up or I'll throw you overboard with or without Svail's orders."

Snotlout impetuously huffed and said, "Well, at least I smell- not show to the world I have hickey on my chest or something."

Much to Captain Svail's surprise, his cousin blushed a deep shade of red and without warning pushed Snotlout over board at the frigid water. With the sound of spluttering she walked off towards the cabin, but not without adjusting her tunic to cover the rest of her chest first.

Ruff and Tuff chose that time to appear and threw a line towards their floundering friend.

"You shouldn't have pissed her off!"

.

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**To be continued...**

**Author's note:**

Apparently, there seems to be a variety of beer. There's Real Ale, Pale Ale, Stout, Mild, Wheat, Lager, and even Lambic and Rice.

Who knew there's a variety of beer out there!? I just thought it was different because of its origins!

.

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Thank you everyone,

Scarabeye3000


	29. Chapter 29

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Shout out to my signed reviews! You know who you are: **SMr. Freeze, Unbreakable Warrior, The Viking Stranger, jlghighlander, dracologistmaster**

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**Disclaimer: Any characters mentioned are all under copyright. This work is purely fan-made.**

**Title: From Asgard to Midgard**

**Author: Scarabeye3000**

**Chapter 29: **_**'Scattered...**_**_'_**

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Mead Hall - a few nights ago

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Hiccup sat grumbling as his father and all around him the elders of Berk planned the reconnaissance mission, including the follow-up in case they needed to. Much to his displeasure, Snotlout proposed a follow-up attack towards the Coalition with a small group comprising of an elite force of Viking Veterans. Now this was met without no small feat of opposition, but in a rare show of guile and acceptance of change. Spitelout suggested a commando type raid, that way they would be less of a force to bring, and an even less amount of provision and equipment to prepare.

Now this was lauded as a much better gesture, however, his father still didn't close the suggestion for a full deployment of Berk's might.

One would think they would be so presumptuous to think that an island or territory as small as theirs would be able to deploy a sizable force. However, if they utilize the available force of every clan under them, then its possible to have at least a thousand men at the most. Not including the children that are training to be dragon riders right now, a sizable force able to siege at least a citadel. With the _'Sea Wing'_ and its success, the Chief approved of more of their Dragon Carrier ships, which would be no doubt be longer and wider.

However, a larger longship would almost guarantee it to not handle very easily considering its shallow displacement and its flat underside. But he has trust in the shipbuilding prowess of the Ingermanns that he gave the green light to it, either way, they made sure that they would fund the testings of larger ships so its up to them if it fails or if it succeeds. Either way, they earn the glory and expenses while Berk lies its most beneficent receiver.

"How about the three more Dragon Carriers we have planned?"

Fjall stood and looked down at his notes, "About that my Chief, we have finished retrofitting the last two of the long ships and have begun installing the dragon cages-"

"What Dragon Carriers? I thought we agreed to stop at the _'Sea Wing'_ being the prototype until we had a concession on its ship building and its morality of use."

Stoick sighed, "Son, if the dragons do not complain- then we have no reason to believe that we are being cruel to them."

"This is absurd, I thought we have talked about this."

"Very well then, have you asked Toothless what he thought about such things as morality? Or have we you forgotten that dragons like to help us-" with a sigh Stoick stood up and stretched his sore shoulders, "Son, I know our dragons now. I may have hunted them, for I was blind to their intelligence and their emotions."

"However, whenever I see our riders set forth from Berk then fly beyond our outpost to where they should go- I cannot help but notice the exhaustion of both rider and dragon."

Hiccup was stopped at this, he never knew his father considered such things, and frankly he didn't know he was capable of it. Ok, that was really mean, but still he managed to take pause at that!

"So, when we found out about your Dragon carrier, it seemed prudent if we can station them in a boat. Also, we put the circular doors to protect them in transit because if ever we were surprised we don't want them to be taken out of commission immediately."

"Ok, I concede on this issue then."

"We move forward then to the deployment of our Dragon Carriers to lay-low the Citadel of the Coalition and put an end to them-" Stoick banged the table with his fist, "They have united the whole archipelago in hostility towards us and that I cannot slide anymore."

"In the case that Svail should request aid, how can we rapidly respond to their needs?"

"Daily reports should be coming in towards the nearest outposts, as a precaution we should station a garrison of two longships that can easily answer the call of aid."

Jarl Fjall wrote it down on his notebook as Hiccup still remained silent. Gobber sighed and raised his fist, the Chief nods knowingly and he began by saying, "I have finished the necessary preparations for the moving of the dried supplies from our storeroom to the proposed citadel."

This talk about a new citadel perked the Heir of Berk's ears, "What Citadel?"

"As you know son, you had a plan for the bombard cannon as an effective defense on Berk correct?"

Hiccup nods at his father, the elder Haddock continued, "By utilizing our dragons, Fjall and Gobber have made plans for a stronghold on the Great Hill overlooking Berk."

"But-"

"Yes, we also know that it was your idea, however, your idea only encompassed the garrison house for the Dragon Cannon. The plan that we would be moving forth is the stronghold for all of Berk, a place where the citizens can retreat and take refuge into in times of a protracted war."

"That I will not oppose, on the contrary, I encourage it especially as a place of refuge for the children."

Satisfied, Stoick nodded and allowed Fjall to finish his note-taking, "Now, getting back on topic- I propose that-"

"I propose that I, Fishlegs, Camicazi and Master Rafiq accompany the forward reinforcements should they call for aid."

The Chief's eyes turned into slits as he weighed the words of Hiccup, his son brazenly stood up and cuts him off to have the first one to have his suggestion known. He knows that his son would not stop unless he would get what he wants, in any case, Valka might chew him out too if he doesn't approve, considering they have been teaming him up ever since she came back.

"Very well, if there are no objections then just make sure that emotions would not cloud your judgement."

Hiccup cocked his head as he asked, "What ship would we use anyway?!"

"According to our records, there is another ship on standby at Amon Sul," Fjall said while looking down on his notes, "A catamaran that used to be the ship of Eret, the prisoner that we just dismissed."

"After repairs, it might take a few days at the most before it can be used."

"Then that will be the one that we will be using," Hiccup said confidently, "We would begin preparations after Captain Svail and Astrid leave tomorrow."

Most people that live at Berk have no idea of the exhaustion that goes into the numerous plannings and meetings of the elders every time they would gather at the Mead Hall. The meeting continued until the moon reached the top of the night sky.

.

.

Forward a week later - a thousand leagues away from Amon Sul

.

Captain Svail looked down at this chart as Eret looked up to his dead reckoning. Most people know that Norsemen were very good sailors, even with primitive tools and equipment the Vikings memorized navigation to an art. As such, Captain Svail stabbed the crude map with his dagger, he shook his head as his adjutant sidled next to him.

"Bloody hell! If I'm reading this map right, we are in a hell of a pain."

"I know," Eret shook his head, "According to the information we got two days ago at port, it seems this is the only island that is capable of such a defensive structure. Plus, its where they usually bring the slave ships-"

"Slave ships?"

Astrid nodded, "When we were asking around we saw a ship that was painted black, it looked eerie on itself with black sails and no flags on it. Also, there was a ring of people around it so you can't get near it. You could see the people getting on though, they were headed straight for the cargo hold."

"Slaves."

"Right."

"So, our mission is clear-" Svail turned to the First Mate and asked, "What time do we arrive at the island?"

"Without any loss of time Captain-" the sailor contemplated a bit then said, "Probably just before the sun rises, that way we can find a cove to tie in."

"What about enemy patrols?" Astrid asked on the side, "It's their citadel, we couldn't just waltz in and look around right? There would be patrols..."

Svail nodded as he turned to his cousin and shook his head, "Cousin, I have something to ask you."

The blonde young woman grinned, "You want us to go there first right? Make sure no patrols get through and bust us?"

"You read my mind."

"Figures," she huffed and turned her back on him to prepare, "You're my cousin."

.

And so now she finds herself huddled under the brush on the small island that they spied upon on the horizon. Her dragon, Stormfly, huddled in the taller underbrush as the twins and Snotlout huddled separately in high vantage points, their dragons indubitably within range of a good shout or signal from them. Astrid tried to settle down as she huffed her exhaustion. After they landed on the island, she abruptly stopped two Viking scouts from running back to the Citadel of news of their arrival.

Well, with Stormfly behind her, her dragon just basically sat down on them like a chicken, a large overgrown spiked chicken and whats left is just the chore of tying them together.

They were all gathered around a cove that perfectly fits the '_Sea Wing' _and in a very prudent move, Captain Svail ordered that the ship be turned around for a quick getaway. She came out of her hiding place and raised her fist high in the air, from their own hiding places Snotlout and the twins also came out with their fist raised.

Astrid signaled that she would go ahead and her other partners nodded. Walking back into the underbrush she headed towards the Citadel with careful feet and soundless steps. From behind her, Snotlout carefully approached and they both acknowledged each other with a nod.

"What're we going to see you think?"

"A whole lot of enemies for sure!"

Snotlout scoffed at that, "Well, this is just bad isn't it?"

"I know, now shut up, we don't know if our enemies are hiding in the shadows!"

As if the wind was behind them, they quickly reached a cliff where they can easily peer down to the Citadel below them. As they neared the edge, they got down on their knees and began crawling on their bellies as they slowly, but surely approached. From their perch they could see the whole half of the island, with their hidden cove on the other side, and the Coalition Citadel on the other. Squinting their eyes, Snot crawled beside Astrid and sighed, "That's a lot of pain to attack."

"Agreed."

The Citadel rose up from the side of the sea cliff it was built upon and lorded over the seas. It's walls rose up to forty feet high from the waves of the sea and it covered the cove it was guarding. A heavy chain was stretched on the entire length of the entrance of the port to block and limit all access to the protected cove. The large port it has held a few longships, as an angry looking spire is featured in the middle of the Citadel. All around the stronghold, circular ramparts with large catapults pointed towards the sea can be seen as evil looking spikes were obviously reserved to those that met a grisly end at the hands of the Coalition.

All around the main quadrangle were numerous soldiers, quite unlike the undisciplined horde of a Viking raiding party. Their soldiers were like the Varangians of the Byzantines, or rather the mercenaries of the Germanic kingdoms, hell, probably even the Russ.

"We're in a hell of a fight here Astrid," Snotlout began pointing to the numerous points of the Citadel, "Just look at the entrance to the port, it has a heavy chain blocking it- no doubt weighing tons and can't be rammed easily by our ships. Hell not even the _'Sea Wing' _could do it."

"Then there are the surrounding circular ramparts with 40 feet walls with loaded catapults! Those ramparts probably have barracks inside them, even armories."

The Jorgenson shook his head, "Hiccup was right, we're going to die just going down there for a look-see."

"I know that, still we should give a detailed report on their activities."

Snotlout rummaged through his rucksack and began to extract his notes, "I think I forgot my writing implement."

Before Astrid could reprimand him though, a distinct sound of a breaking twig behind made them turn their heads and both were shocked to see a Dark Elf standing calmly on the thick underbrush. However, they could see that he has a half-skull for a helm, violet skin-tight leather armor with numerous sorcerous markings, his hand were garbed in a glove that seemed sheer to the sight. His left hand grasped a black double edged sword with a blackened balde and evil looking runes, his right hand carried a staff of obvious sorcerous nature while an eldritch light lingered around it. Both Berkians tried to breathe remembering their training, however, dealing with the real thing is usually very different with what they were used to do.

The Dark Elf stepped out of the underbrush and stood proudly straight, then bowed respectfully, "Greetings Midgardians, I am Neroth, Elder Warlock of the_ Iron Thorns Kabal._"

Snotlout took one long look at the warlock and in a blink of an eye was instantly on his feet. Astrid followed not long behind him as they both drew their weapons and engaged the enemy. Neroth gave an amused grin as he raised his black blade and blocked the Jorgenson's swords strike. He easily duck out of the way as an axe came whistling above exactly where his head used to be.

He stabbed the staff on the ground in front of him as a blast of energy pushed the two Berkians away. The larger of the two stood his ground, even Astrid was shocked as Snotlout remained standing, with his resolve proven he swung his sword forward and met with the small black sword again. Noticing that their enemy was muttering in a language that they knew Master Portio once used, they redoubled their efforts to attack him until finally the large Viking was able to one of his weapon and swung wildly towards Neroth before a flash of light blinded both of them momentarily.

Unfortunately though his lucky sword swing was met only by air.

Astrid came up behind him and also cocked her head. _'Where did he go?'_

There was the unmistakable footprint of their enemy, but he was nowhere near them to be found. Cautiously they went back to back, weary of an attack coming from the shadows, an attack favored by the melee of the Dark Elven kin, but there was no attack on their person merely a whisper, an ethereal voiced in their ears that gave a chilling tingle on their spine.

_"It seems that you have been trained by my 'blind' kin, but know that your hardships are all for naught. Your salvation out of this island will burn."_

A drop of bile rose up on their throats as they heard the unmistakable sound of a loud gong reverberating down on the Citadel. Running to the edge and forgetting to even conceal herself, she saw that the subdued atmosphere of the early morning that they saw of the Citadel was no more. Instead, there was a mass of frenzy, a hurried state to mobilize as he saw some footmen, and archer still suiting up their leather armor and tying in their swords to their belts. Horses being dragged out of the stables, with their riders still tightening their leather armor and donning their riding breeches. Spears and swords were passed around as even archers began funneling out of the side gates of the Citadel. The longships that were tied beside the port was suddenly gripped with a controlled chaos as the sailors began loosening the mooring lines and untying the sails to set out of the port. Even the heavy chain link fence that span from rampart to rampart in the entrance to the port was lowered using a large wheel that is obviously manned by numerous slaves.

Shouts can be heard as important looking commanders shouted to their men with the same urgency as if in a precipice for battle.

Containing the very real panic she was now feeling she quickly turned to Snotlout who just finished assembling his pole weapon, "Let's hurry back!" she exclaimed, "They're on to us!"

Crashing through the pine forest, both Astrid and Snotlout ran with selfish abandon. A fear of great magnitude gnawed at their heels as they pushed themselves farther into greater feats of agility. Their training turning their brains off and just fueling their adrenaline and instincts. It was do or die now, nothing else could go against them

"How in the_ Hell_ did they knew we were coming Astrid!?"

"I don't know Snotlout, I have no idea!" she panicked as she ran along side him, "Maybe some sorcery or some other magical item that Master Portio had similarly used before."

As they quickly passed a small clearing, they clearly saw a constant smoke trail coming from where the _'Sea Wing'_ was moored at. The sound of a hundred men marching and shouting came up behind them, continuing their run at break neck speed. The sound of horses trampling through the underbrush overtook them as Astrid whistled shrilly. Cresting a hill they saw that their enemy Neroth somehow magically appeared near their longship firing bolts of unknown holy fire at their only means of escape.

A screech behind them told Astrid that Stormfly and Hookfang would be busy with the cavalry that's currently pursuing them. She risked a look back and saw their two dragons spraying the forest with their intense fire, with panicked shouting coming from the flamed underbrush.

"Smart girl," Astrid breathed in admiration of her dragon.

Cresting a hill they were now able to make a beeline for the beach that would take them directly towards the embattled sorcerer. Both their eyes grew wide as they saw the twins gamely engaging their former enemy who vanished mysteriously. As they ran they could see that the _'Sea Wing'_ and its sailors are frantically dousing the small fires already plaguing the ship. From afar they could see Captain Svail ordering his men to retain order and to prepare for the incoming battle.

Unknown to them a shadow loomed behind them as it grinned in anticipation of a surprise attack.

.

Ruffnut gritted her teeth as their enemy swung its small black double-edged sword at her. Her shield, thank the Gods for Hiccup, blocked the sword easily, but the feeling of such a small sword on her shield felt unnatural. In any case, it felt weird and something otherworldly as the blade smacked on her shield that was made from a light material of both _Gronckle Iron_ and aluminum. Barf and Belch, bless them also, made a grand entrance of charging towards the enemy, but was now tied down with a summoned chain, probably by their sorcerous enemy.

The other half of the Thornston, seeing that their dragon was chained to the ground exploded in action. With a roar, Tuffnut raised the spear high and pointed the business end thrusts it towards their enemy. Neroth seeing the attack coming grinned with his fangs and raised his right arm to block with his own sorcerous staff. The tip of the spear meeting the ornamented part of the staff as it coursed with eldritch energy.

With a toothy grin, the Warlock lets his staff go and spun his right hand. A malevolent force suddenly gripped Tuffnut and he was spun away, thrown by an invisible force towards the sandy shore of the beach. Landing with a thud on the ground, Ruffnut charged with a battle cry, spinning to the left she lunged forward with her shield first and swiped her sword forward. Blocking with his short black blade, Neroth clashed weapons with the young woman, taking note of her style and manner of attack. Waving his hand, the staff that was planted on the ground returned to his right hand automatically. The Warlock spun in place and aimed his staff at Ruff, bolts of dark energy spew forth from the tip of the staff and splashed the young woman with explosions.

She was thrown like a rag doll, her prone body slamming into the hard ground as blood seeped out of her lips. Shaking the cobwebs of being stunned, Tuffnut saw his sister bombarded by a hellish spell and her body being thrown to the ground. With a shout of rage, he used his spear as pole vault and launched himself towards the Warlock.

Clicking the special knobs that Hiccup installed, his weapon began to spew out green gas. Now, with their dragon being with them most of the time, both he and his sister developed an obvious immunity for Zippleback poison gas. So, when he reached his enemy, he spun the spear over his head and smacked his enemy's blade with it.

The resulting explosion shook Tuffnut, but not as much as Neroth. The Warlock was thrown with his back to the ground, the concussive wave it generated shook his head and made him dizzy and his eyes watered.

_"Stupid monkeigh!" _Neroth's ethereal and angry voice grinds on their ears, "I will all have your heads on a pike for this!"

A shadow came up on top of him as a rampaging Viking came down on him with a large double bladed sword pole. Backing five paces away he spun to get away as throwing axes thudded on the soft ground where he used to stand.

Tuffnut breathed easily as Snotlout and Astrid came finally to their aid.

"What took you so long?"

"It was a long way," Astrid said her breathing still heaving from the exertion, "Plus, we were held back a bit."

"I can see that," Tuffnut stood straighter and risked a glance back at his sister, "Any chance I can attend to Ruff?"

"Do it now!" Snotlout shouted as he charged with Astrid supporting his back.

While the two of them engaged the Warlock, Tuff peeled off and raced towards his sister. There he puts a hand on her neck and felt her pulse, it was strong and he felt relieved. He opens one of her eyes and it focused at him albeit it took some time. The sound of clashing blades and grunts with Astrid's roar can be heard as Ruffnut finally sat herself up wincing slightly and shaking her head.

"What the hell-"

"-you were knocked out pretty bad," Tuff said with concern, his arm comfortly on her shoulder, "I thought you were badly hurt."

"Ugh!" she spits out a glob of blood and winced as she stretched her neck a bit, "I think I lost a tooth-"

"Maybe," the male of the Thornston smiled with relief, his sister was definitely tough as she began grasping her weapons again, "Can you fight? Or would you like to take a moment?"

Surprising him, Ruffnut jumped to her feet and looked at him as he kneel in front of her. She frowned at him and smacked his helmeted head, "Don't think I'm too weak for this- let's go and help them!"

Sensing that the twins finally rallied themselves, Astrid stepped back a bit as Snotlout stayed in front of her.

"All right!" the Berkian Shieldmaiden commanded, "To me! To me Riders!"

Snotlout formed in front of her, his weapon aimed towards Neroth as the twins, with Ruff and Tuff on her side, while she remained in the middle with her axe drawn. The Warlock aimed his dark blade forward as some sort of parrying weapon while his right hand caressed his staff. His skull helm now burned on the side as the exploding hit caused by Tuffnut a while ago gave their enemy something more to seethe about.

"It seems you have rallied yourselves quite effectively," Neroth smiled, his chiseled teeth bared at them, "Yet it was very foolish to come here in the first place. You know what we are capable of-"

"Of course!" Astrid exclaimed, she knew this magic, the words would debilitate them, make them lose their focus. But Master Portio taught them well, and so she gathered her courage and shouted back in defiance, "Hiccup killed two of your friends though if I seem to remember! We'll flatten you no problem!"

"The monkeigh woman actually thinks to-" the Warlock laughed shrilly, "Yes, your Hiccup probably won that night. And I must regret that those two buffoons clearly underestimated him losing their minds with the _Kursed _spell. But please, you have not seen an elite Dark Elf fight yet."

Muttering in his native tongue, Neroth began to erupt with an aura of dark miasma. His hands magically binds darkness and all eyes turned now to the black blade he's carrying. With his staff embedded to the ground, he deftly placed his right hand on the flat part of his sword and said.

_"Ang gijak-ishi, lul gijak-ishi, afar angathfark," _Neroth looked dangerously at Astrid, then at Ruffnut and finally grasped his staff, _"Vrasubatburuk ug butharu-bagruiuk."_

What the hell does that mean?

Astrid gritted her teeth as a chillness enveloped her whole body, looking around she also found the others tensing, their shivers unconcealed as their enemy's grin intensified.

"ATTACK! TAKE HIM DOWN!" she screamed as her friends exploded into action.

Snotlout charged with his polearm pointed forward, Neroth parried it to his left with his black blade. A familiar spear was coming from the other side as the Warlock planted his spear on the ground and blocked the incoming explosive attack. With his front wide open, Ruffnut charged through the hole on his defense and smacked her shield cleanly on his chest armor. He was knocked back again, and was about to recover until an axe swinging down sliced his helm in half.

Neroth screamed in pain, he rolled backwards away from his staff that was spewing eldritch lightning with a wave of his right hand. With his bleeding head, he tried to clamp with the back of his left hand as he amply distanced himself from the attacking Vikings.

Seeing that their enemy bleeds, all four were emboldened until their enemy raised his head and they saw the whole of his face.

He had the same flowing long hair as Master Portio, yet his faced held a much older face than most Dark Elves they have seen. Two scars running from the top of his head down to his chin in a parallel line caught their eyes until a added appendage brought new level of horrors to their sight.

Another pair of eye beheld them, where his bare forehead should have been, a pair of eldritch eyes are also located. Whether it is by sorcerous fate or design, none can explain such an unnatural appearance. It shook them as it stared back at them as it flowed with powers of the Empyrean.

"Behold me mortal _Monkeigh_, a true manipulator of the Immaterium-" he beckoned for his extra eyes and the Berkians stared in disbelief, "-you have no chance whatsoever!"

He muttered another string of eldritch curses and instantly chains erupted from the ground where they stood, binding them to where they stand. Neroth roared with rage and his staff flew back to his right hand again, pointing it at his enemies, he summoned great balls of energy towards them. Exploding on impact and throwing their bodies away, the Warlock cackled madly at his power. But he didn't notice one of the Berkians had huddled behind her shield, she knew the way he attacked with his sorcery and she took immediate cover as her friends lay stunned around her.

Ruffnut charged with all her speed and might, Neroth turned and raised his black blade but it was too late. She smacked the blade aside with her shield and brought her sword crashing down on his head.

Neroth cried out in pain, his two left eyes blinded as more blood gushed forth. Such an affront to his status as Chief Warlock of the Empyrean! He would not suffer this atrocious beings anymore. He would summon a Warp Storm so powerful it would rip time and space around them!

Finally relinquishing his blade, he stabbed it in front of him and grasped his wizardry staff in his two hands, cackling and talking to himself in a rage, he turned to Ruffnut as his head bleeds profusely.

"I'll rip the boundaries of space and destroy you!"

A wave of energy swept through the whole cove, eldritch lightning erupted from Neroth's staff as numerous magic circles formed into a distinct magic sphere. The sea shook and the sailors aboard the _Sea Wing_ stumbled and fell on the top deck. As the whole world seemed to shake in the power being exuded by Neroth, a shadow came out of the longship and hurled itself towards the beaches.

With an amused grin Neroth gazes at one of his kin, Portio of the White Hands Kabal finally came out as the Berkians looked in awe of their teacher.

"Everyone, stand and prepare for battle-" just then the first of the Vikings from the Citadel arrived, their horses had cuts and some of their hair singed and smoldering as they managed to crash through the burning forest. Donning his mithril gloves, Portio bowed letting his hair cascade down a bit, but careful not to take his eyes off of his enemy, "An honor to battle the Chief Warlock of the Iron Thorns-"

Neroth bowed his head a bit and said, "An honor too to finally encounter the _'The Black Doctor'_ of the White Hands."

"You truly embarrass me-" his words actually sincere that it made Portio blush as the Berkians prepared to repel the Viking Horsemen, "-but I must stop your spell, for it does not do us good if you finish its enchantment and successfully cast it upon this rock."

Both smiled as the White Hand gripped something in mid-air and the sun's early rays hits the microwires that he uses as a weapon. Grasping his sword and interrupting his incantations, Neroth engaged Portio with blinding speed. Grunting which seemed a monumental effort, the White Hand swung his right hand down obliterating everything in front of him as they saw no obvious weapons of Portio being swung around.

But their eyes cannot be wrong, he obliterated the Earth in front of him using his wires. Just how much can he be strong, he vanished from their sight, as Neroth stayed in place and growled to the sky. A flash of light and the force of him descending on the Warlock cannot be denied as they destroyed rock and soil all around them.

"You wield a Cursed blade it seems?"

"I'm sure a weapon not less terrible than your microwires-" Neroth grinned evily, "-you cannot deny though that an underlying cruelty lies the similarity between us not just our blood that binds us. Yet you chose them above us? How could you turn your backs to us!?"

Without warning bolts of energy exploded towards Portio as Astrid and her friends gasped at the amount of destruction they were dishing against each other. But their Dark Elf teacher drew his strings together and spun his two hands in a sweeping criss-cross motion and the bolts of eldritch energy exploded safely around him.

All around the bolts of energy exploded with a roar of a petard's explosion, as the shrapnel and upheaval of dirt peppered all around them incessantly.

.

"Bloody hell!" Snotlout gasped as he dismounted another rider from its horse, "If they fight like that then they'll destroy everything!"

"Focus Snot! More horsemen coming!"

All four turned their backs on Portio as he handled the Warlock on his own. From the longship they could hear Captain Svail shouting out to them.

"Astrid! We're ready to go!"

Taking out a copper tube from her purse Astrid expertly lighted it with a piece of flint and pointed it to the sky. A bright ball of flame shot out of the tube and caught the attention of everyone else, including their dragons who for now have been beaten back by the onslaught of flying arrows and hurled spears from the advancing army on the middle of the forest. Stormfly, Hookfang and the recently freed Barf and Belch raced towards their humans as Svail frantically signaled for them to come back to the longship.

Already the line of trees near the beach begins to reveal pockets of soldiers making their way outside of the burning forest. Coughing and soot-faced their leaders are already beginning to rally their forces for a coherent counter-attack

Just in time as their dragons swooped down for their riders and they hurriedly mounted towards their mounts. But as soon as he settled his bottom, Snotlout aimed Hookfang towards the dueling Portio and Neroth and came swooping down to them.

"What are you doing Snotlout!?" Astrid half-asked and half-shouted at him, but he seemed deaf as he continued towards the two Dark Elves.

.

"You cannot escape so easily Black Doctor!"

"I beg to differ!" Portio swung his left hand to the right and grabbed some air with his other hand and pulled. The effect was instantaneous, Neroth's left feet dangled into the air high above his head for a few seconds he was wide open.

_'There! I have you!'_

_"Not quite doctor," _in a split second bile rose into the pit of Portio's stomach as the ethereal voice reached him, _"One glaring disadvantage of the microwire is that you have to set it up to attack properly-"_

The enemy suddenly vanished as he appeared behind the White Hand, too late to rearrange his wires, Portio saw with unconcealed horror the black blade aimed at his back.

_"-it takes time to set up, leaving you wide open if your attack fails!"_

Desperately twisting his body, the blade nicked the side of the White Hand as he rolled safely to the ground. The enemy's weapon grazed his side as he tried to evade it to no avail. Small consolation that he only suffered minor injuries and none that could debilitate him too much.

Going down in one knee, Portio raised his left hand and saw the grinning Neroth in front of him. The wound on his side was throbbing and no doubt the Cursed weapon brought with it its own brew of poison. The Warlock's eyes widened as he took the chance and lunged forward the White Hand with his murderous aura on full bloom. But something big and clawed slammed into the side of their enemy, a loud roar of a dragon came next as he saw Hookfang already donning his fire cape with Snotlout also burning on his back.

Half-throwing, half-shoving the Warlock away towards a group of undisturbed trees crashing through them like a stone being thrown to the sea. The Monstrous Nightmare finally extinguished his flame cloak and Portio stood up clutching his sides while Snotlout puts his hand towards him.

"Curse you and the Gods!" the White Hand shouted as he took the offered hand, "I thought I told you to leave me with him!"

"I suppose you did," Snotlout said finally able to breathe after Hookfang extinguished his fire cloak, "But I was never a stickler for rules, and I don't want to leave our teacher behind!"

The sound of marching soldiers and flapping of wings caught their ears as the other Riders were half-way towards the already departing longship. Still gripping his side and displaying an uncanny ability to stay balanced, Portio stood on Hookfang's saddle just behind Snotlout and raised his uninjured hand to the sky. His wires flickered in the sunlight as the already formed battalion of soldier Vikings aimed their bows at the retreating Berkians.

Grasping his wires in the sky the White Hand tightened his wires and their human enemies were suddenly sliced in numerous pieces. Horses, humans, swords, spears, even the hardened armor that they were using were sliced by the microwires that are currently crisscrossed on their location. Snotlout turned at the ghastly sight, he had seen the brutality of a battle before, and the frenzied actions of a battle-crazed army. But seeing their Master decimating a whole battalion sized, a whole hundred men that was formed on the beach side with a pull from his microwire and he audibly gulped.

Just how strong were they really?

Leaving the carnage at the beach they raced towards the _'Sea Wing' _just in time for it to leave the calm waters of the protected cove and into the arms of the frigid sea.

From where he was thrown, Neroth, Warlock of the Iron Thorns adjusted a tree trunk that had fallen on him and walked back to the beach. His staff was where he managed to left it, still standing embedded in the sand. He called it forth and it dutifully returned to his right hand. Using it as a walking stick he approached the water's edge and stared out into the escaping longship. With his two left eyes wounded beyond repair, his right feet probably dislocated by the attack of their foolish kin, and numerous others brought by those _Monkeigh _, he turned on his back and saw Cythrax calmly walking towards him as he easily dismounted from a horse.

"Don't tell me the _monkeigh_ did all of this to you?"

"Not really," Neroth sighed, "The _Black Doctor_ accompanies them."

"Ah, that explains the disturbed casting of the Eldritch Storm spell I was feeling."

The Warlock grinned, "I apologize my Lord, did I disturb you?"

Cythrax waved his hand flippantly, "Oh, don't mind me old friend- I was just finishing up when I heard the alarm no doubt you set off."

"Yes, I didn't want to disturb you as you feed off the slaves," Neroth got down on one knee as his wounds and numerous affliction begins to affect him, "Forgive my weakness my Lord- I suppose I should go after them."

The Archon scoffed and threw him a bottle of a mysterious essence. Realizing what it was, Neroth bowed low and opened the bottle stopper. The contents spilled out like bubbling fizz on a soda as he absorbed the essence of the fresh slaves his Archon saved him. Instantly his wounds begin to close up, his dislocated foot snapped back into its sockets and his two left eyes that were blinded, blinked into active use once more.

"Thank you my Lord for that invigorating- ah, meal."

"I'm surprised it was enough."

Neroth smiled evilly, though his strength and power had diminished, but his physical condition was restored, "I think I absorbed some children there my Lord."

Cythrax also smiled with a sinister grin as he nodded in agreement, "Truly, they brought a lot of young ones from Greece and from the Turkish Ports. I sucked the children dry of course, but I left the women and cute men- they'll be my playthings for the next few days I suppose."

The Archon stood on the periphery of beach as the Warlock stood just one step behind him. Both looked at the fleeing longship, now merely a dot on the horizon, but with their elven eyes they can see as clear as if they were beside them.

"Its such a pity you know Neroth, I've always wanted to try and fight on the deck of a longship."

Understanding the implied command, the Warlock muttered his incantations a circle of power encircled them both, "By your will My Lord," and they were enveloped by the light as they vanished from view.

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Meanwhile

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"Son of a bitch!"

Portio exclaimed as the poison coursed through his body, already he injected himself with a powerful anti-venom, one that is of his own making. Scattered through the deck, the Riders tended to their wounds, the ship healers already on quick work to patch up the wounds of their kinsmen. The swiftness of the longship was evidently shown as within minutes of setting off and having such favorable winds, the island was already a small speck in the distance. From his view on the ship, he could see the intense tempo of the battle as it shifted from the defensive then to the offensive, then back again. And also to be able to see the abilities of their individual enemies, it shocked him to no end at their abilities.

Svail approached the White Hand and watched as he winced in pain, "Well, what happened?"

"They have a Warlock with them!" he exclaimed, "A probable Seer if his appearance betrays his discipline. They were probably on to us ever since we left that seedy port a few days ago."

"Terrific."

The Riders huddled on one corner as Eret approached them, he could see most have seen better days and that was just for one engagement. He was soot-faced, no doubt he took part in the firefighting effort conducted by Svail as the first spells were directed towards their longship. The most that have seemed to be hurt was the twins for aside from Snotlout, they were the ones actively engaging the enemy on the beach. He could only wince as they rubbed healing salve and some ointment on their numerous burns.

"Beard of Thor!" Snotlout hissed as the salve was applied to him, "I never knew those explosion nicked me!"

"We're still fortunate."

"Why the hell is that?" Tuffnut frowned at his sister.

The male Thornston gestured to Portio, "We didn't get nicked- just bruised and smacked silly by explosions," he shook his head at their teacher's misfortune, "At least we're not feeling numbing pain."

"I wonder how he's feeling?"

"Shall we ask?"

They were about to approach Portio when he suddenly tensed, their dragons also squawked and panicked as they stood on the main deck of the longship. From afar two great pillars of light can be seen in the distance as the White Hand tensed and turned towards them.

"Everybody! On alert!" there was a not so subtle hint of panic on his voice as he said it and all of the crew including the Riders felt it.

"Why? Is there something wrong?"

A cold dread gripped them all when suddenly a shadow appeared behind the White Hand and materialized into something they weren't expecting. As Portio turned, all he was able to see was the grinning, malice filled face of Cythrax Bladetongue, his sharp teeth shown in a gruesome smile. Going immediately on the defensive, Portio was just starting to move his microwire when suddenly a spray of blood erupted in front of him and a numbing pain gripped him on his neck.

Master Portio, the Black Doctor of the White Hands staggered as he clasped his two hands on his neck. Cythrax sliced open his jugular as he materialized from a teleportation spell that his Warlock casts on the beach a few minutes ago.

With complete horror, Astrid, Svail and the rest of the Berkians saw Portio stagger to the side of the ship and went tumbling down to the side into the frigid sea with an audible splash.

The second shadow finally materialized and from the Archon out stepped their enemy from before fully restored, his four eyes unblinking and relishing the pained look of panic and despair in their faces.

"Hello Berkians! Missed me have you not?"

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**To be continued...**

**Author's note:**

The reason why Snotlout didn't burn was because as I have said, all Berkians especially the Elite, including the Riders are using the modified leather armors made from Dragon Skin. He wasn't breathing because in a full fire cloak, stunt-men always, ALWAYS hold their breath or risk burning their lungs by inhaling the super-heated air caused by their flame cloaks.

Read and review please!

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Cheers,

Scarabeye3000


	30. Chapter 30

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**Shout out to, SMr. Freeze****, EeveeCat1248, The Viking Stranger, dracologistmaster, jlghighlander **for their signed reviews.

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**Disclaimer: Any characters mentioned are all under copyright. This work is purely fan-made.**

**Title: From Asgard to Midgard**

**Author: Scarabeye 3000**

**Chapter 30: _'Dies Irae'_**

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Off the coast of the Coalition Island  


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The Berkians looked in horror as Portio gripped his neck with two hands and clamped on his jugular. He staggered to the side and tipped over and fell on the frigid waters of the North. Everything seemed to stop as all stood stunned in disbelief, disbelief at the sudden loss of their most powerful combatant and the return of an enemy they believed they already escaped from.

"Hello Berkians! Missed me have you not?"

It was Astrid that broke off first, she found herself running, running towards their enemy her axe already held on her side ready to swing at a moments notice. Her shout of anger awoke the others into immediate action, Snotlout also came charging to the Warlock, while the twins followed behind. The Archon smiled, his body became transparent as he sheaths the dagger he used to kill Portio and drew a large double handed blade. He rematerialized and swung his weapon towards Astrid who ducked just in time, Ruffnut charged and deflected the large weapon upwards as Tuffnut charged in the middle and Astrid spun on the side with the business end of her axe aimed at their enemy's legs. Two weapons hurtling towards him, Cythrax calmly raised his leg and vaulted the swinging axe and as he came forward he used the pommel of his sword and deflected the spear thrust.

Astrid, Ruff and Tuff's mouth hung open as their weapons clearly missed their target.

_"NOT BLOODY LIKELY!"_

Skillfully, their enemy dodged and deflected them very easily. And they were obviously working together so well that they managed to wound and blind the Warlock, but how in the world did they- umm, repair? his eyes!?

"Now then Neroth, since I'm so refreshed-" Cythrax smiled and the Vikings gasped, "-shall we deal with them quickly?"

Never have they gazed upon someone with so much beauty as a person that they all stopped breathing for a second. Damnation, Master Portio warned them and also by Hiccup in passing, but they never could describe the amorous beauty arrayed before them.

The androgynous face left them all in awe, never have they gazed upon someone who had the face that combined the rugged features of a man and the delicate lines of a woman. His long silver hair was swept back giving ample view of his face, his eyes were of the golden colors of wheat and as the sun's rays swept over him, his skin seemed to exude an aura of elegance as his armor contoured perfectly with his body. Garbed in a mixture of black and purple, a silken scarf covered the front of his face as he smiled at them. You could almost dismiss the large sword he carried and think none of the dangers it posed.

And now that they were focused on him, they just noticed that his voice sounded like bells on their ears. It was also beautiful to the highest note and to the lowest.

_'Damn it! He really looks good, like a freaking ANGEL!'_

But everyone knew he was dangerous and his beauty seemed unnatural that they are all put on edge.

"Neroth, I do not wish them to escape-"

"Yes my lord," the Warlock replied pleasantly, "Shall we send them flying?"

Cythrax nodded and then turned to a group of sailors that were rallying behind the Riders of Berk, not that the ship was very big, but 10 men can stand abreast of each other and still have space to maneuver on the top deck. With a blink of an eye he was upon them, the nearest losing his arm as the Archon spun his large sword impossibly for their eyes to follow. Their eyes lingered for a moment and heads literally flew off of their allies.

With battle raging all around them caused by the two Dark Elves, the Riders rallied towards Astrid as she shouted, "Keep the Warlock busy Snot, twins go and see if Portio is alive!"

They scurried towards the side and looked at the raging sea as if in mockery of their failure.

Snotlout swung his large sword at Neroth as the panicked voice of Ruff cried out, "I can't see him! He might have gone under!"

"There's nothing we can do now, come help then!" Astrid shouted bitterly as a magical force hurled Snotlout to the side. Charging forward with her axe she swung it downward, but the Warlock blocked with his staff and grinned evilly at her. Tuff wiped the smirk of his face though as he came thrusting towards him just behind Astrid. Ducking to the left to evade the deadly thrust, he saw a blur spinning towards him and Ruffnut appeared where he was about to spun around, the sword of the female Thornston slashing towards him.

He lets his cursed black blade go and blocks with his unarmored left hand, but Ruff's sword did not go through, for his hand glowed with eldritch energy and his fanged grin returned.

"Did you honestly think that the same trick would work on me twice?" the energy on his left arm condensed into his hand forming a ball of darkness.

"Dead- WAVE!" He flexed his energized hand and the ball of eldritch power exploded outward in a concussive wave that flung all combatants to the wooden deck.

_'Holy Frigga!' _Astrid cried out as her breath was easily knocked out of her, their enemy had so much more within them than they thought. Recovering quickly, Snot jumped on his feet taking to heart what their fallen Master have taught him. He would be the strong front-liner in every battle, he would be the armored fist to scatter their enemy and as he stood back up he shook the cobwebs overtaking his body.

Their training helped so much, with him being thrown around like a doll ever since they encountered the enemy. But so far, he would have yet to feel the dregs of pain and loss of concentration. The things they made him do increased his fortitude to the limits of human endurance, and possibly, lesser men would have been knocked out already with what the enemy was dishing them with. However, he took upon the mantle of protector now and without Hiccup to help them, then he must do everything in his might to get the Riders back to Berk.

No, he did not believe that he would need to give his life. He believed that they would all survive this, and they would return triumphant in the end. So with that thought in his heart and mind, he charged again with a mighty roar of a Viking.

Hearing the sound of their proverbial Champion's roar, Ruff and Tuff came after him as Astrid brought up the rear.

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Captain Svail and his adjutant Arnar retreated steadily as the Archon cuts down every single sailor that drew a sword and engaged him. Fearing for his adjutant's life, the Captain shoved the younger man behind him taking his tower shield he timed his enemy's sword swing and raised his own. The loud clang brought a smile to the lips of the Archon, how in the world did this maggot managed to block his sword?

"Excellent sword swing_ monkeigh_!" Cythrax said softly while Svail shook his head of the cobwebs of sleep. Just hearing him speak gives shivers and crudely affects him, "A monkey truly can swing a mean swing, give it a sword and he easily turns it into a walking stick."

Swords clanged together as Arnar scrambled backwards away from the battle, he was grasping for a crossbow, any ranged weapon to even the odds. He stared at the stern of the ship and saw a loaded ballistae.

_'Perfect'_ ran through his head as he scrambled towards it.

The Archon on the meantime toyed with the Captain of the ship, true he was skilled for a Midgardian, but being the first born of the Gods he would be ashamed to even consider him skilled. He scoffed at his enemy, gleeful at the show that their mere existence is an affront to his heritage.

Opening his lips, Cythrax infused his speech with his power and Svail stopped moving for a fraction of a second. A spurt of blood and Captain Svail's sword and right arm splattered to the ground. His cry of pain pulled all eyes to him as Arnar sighted downrange and pulled the lever.

The Dark Elf was smiling evilly, his enemy now kneel before him, as all lesser beings should be. His next move now would be to kill him, but where's the fun in that? Maybe he should keep him alive and-

A bolt whizzed towards him so quickly that his Elven eyes failed to anticipate it. The large bolt penetrated his right chest, punctured his lung, and came splattering out his back. His blood exploded behind his back as the Dark Elf also kneels in front of Svail. Shocked beyond all reason he stared back at the stern of the ship where Arnar shot him with the ballistae.

"HOW DARE YOU WOUND ME!?" the Archon's beautiful eyes stared at the young man with deranged vision. In its haze and fury it quickly sprang on his feet and charged after the young man howling madly.

Svail, in a fit of pain and rage, also launched himself on his enemy. All the while still clutching his arm where his right hand was used to be attached. Gritting his teeth to resist the loss of consciousness and excruciating pain, he slammed himself to Cythrax and latched onto him tightly.

"UNHAND ME YOU _MONKEIGH!_" through the haze of extreme rage and disbelief the Archon exclaimed.

But the Captain gripped with the last of his brute strength and lifted their enemy up to the air and charged towards the side of the ship. Svail cursed in his mind, their enemy was so skilled, and the pain of the loss of his right hand clouded his senses. However, this was a necessary move to gain the upper hand!

Pushing himself over the side while still holding their enemy, they both plunged into the sea unnoticed except by a young Viking who quickly abandoned the ballistae he was using.

From the water a loud cry called out, "NEROTH! AVENGE ME!"

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Not noticing the fight going on the stern part of the ship, Snotlout and Astrid took turns swiping and fighting the Warlock of the Iron Thorns. The two of them were the first to recover aside from the twins who were already shaking their heads. They charged headlong into their enemy, the twins already taking up the rear. Launching a counter-attack that wiped the leer off of Neroth's face, the Dark Elf began to step backwards as the flurry of attacks began to overwhelm him.

A slight slip on the top deck and he was suddenly knocked down by Snotlout. Neroth reeled as the Berkian struck him in the side of his head with the blunt staff of his sword pole.

Neroth came down on one knee as his vision swam before him, they got a lucky hit again! He was too busy dodging left and right and maintaining the integrity of his spell that he didn't know it finally took its toll on his mind. Blessed with superior intellect and understanding, used to achieving and doing multiple task, he was used to accomplish several things at once in his long immortal life.

True, all Elves were immortal and would never get old unless they wish it, but they were not invincible and still suffers the fatigue and weariness that all creatures are destined to feel. This is shown more prominently, because his already weakened fortitude from their battle earlier truly drained him of his full power. Dealing with their incursion to their island, then fighting all four of them with the _'monkeigh'_ unexpectedly gaining an upper hand due to his foolish mistake of underestimating the 'supposed' inferior enemy.

But as he knelt in front of them, his vision finally returning to normal. All he felt was anger, full anger and rage at this insolence to his race. How dare these weak-minded savages managed to lay him low? Again!?

"NEROTH!" the cry came from the side, "AVENGE ME!"

The screech woke him up completely, as if pulled by some unexplained force, he turned towards the stern of the ship and saw Cythrax Bladetongue lifted by the recently one-armed _monkeigh_ and being carried over the side into the sea.

"My Lord!" the Warlock cried out as Cythrax went overboard and out of his sight, though still on his knees he cried out into the heavens and stabbed his right thumb in his left chest. He gritted his teeth as he coughed out a mouthful of blood, "Release the _Darkness!_"

A dark miasma engulfed him immediately as the Riders pulled back, Astrid held all her friends back, she knew what the miasma is all about. It was the same state that their lunatic enemies became when they ambushed Hiccup a few weeks ago. The dark energies the Dark Elf spewed out leaked everywhere, it wrapped his face, his arms, his legs and his whole body. All the Riders of Berk looked stricken with disbelief, he was entirely engulfed by the darkness as their enemy began screaming in a haze of derangement.

He has been _Kursed!_

Astrid stood back as they all gazed at their enemy, Neroth's face seemed to be lock into an endless silent scream as his body was lifted into the air with only the darkness holding him up. The overflowing miasma flowed out of him as the warm morning air suddenly chilled them into inaction.

"Uh- what's happening Astrid-?" Ruff said as she covered most of her body with her shield.

Tuff twisted the 'special handhold' that Hiccup made, readying his attack "What are we going to do?"

Snotlout remained silent as their enemy finally finished his transformation and floated slowly on the ground. They gasped in horror and disbelief at his changed appearance.

Even Astrid could not believe the image that stood before them, Neroth's form was much, much different from the two Incubi that attacked her and Hiccup weeks ago. Whereas, Janus, the Kursed Incubi transformation was like a madman, with his redeeming visage as a haughty faced Dark Elf was wiped away by the curse. Neroth on the other hand held on to the dark matter as if it was a second skin, naturally, his armor would be sundered by the force of the dark matter and it binded perfectly on him, with no miasma escaping or flowing away from him. Astrid knew that power of the so-called _Kursed,_ increased agility, strength, and stamina, combined with his magical arts, their enemy just became much more formidable.

Neroth's ivory like skin now shone with the miasma binding into him, with noticeable muscles and sinews that could probably deflect lesser missile weapons. His four silvery eyes now burned red with the power of darkness in him, and with a simple twitch of his hand the magical staff flew to his right hand and glowed with a subtle power in their eyes.

He radiated power and as he began to speak, he required no tongue, for he invaded their mind with impunity and power.

"ÞAÐ ER EINS OG ÞIÐ SJÁIÐ," _(__"IT IS AS YOU SEE IT,")_ his voice boomed in their heads, "ÞIÐ MUNUÐ ÖLL DEYJA!" , _(__"YOU WILL ALL DIE!")_

Neroth looked at Snotlout and made a twisting motion grab with his left hand and the young man simply flew away towards the end of the ship. His body slamming towards Arnar who was busy attending to the gasping Svail, and then to the handle of the rudder breaking it in half, knocking both of them out, and taking both fighters out of the count. They stood in horror as Snotlout coughed out blood while numerous wounds penetrated through his armor, the younger man who he collided with didn't fare much better.

His gaze found Ruffnut and swiped the air again with his right hand, thinking quickly she raised her shield, but the shield quivered and a large gash appeared on her left face, the pain driving her to scream, which only fueled his ecstasy. With a flick of his wrist, he viciously sent dark bolts of energy towards her flinging her to the side.

"ÞÚ HEFUR GENGIÐ NÓGU LANGT Í ÞESSU GYSI AÐ FRUMBURÐI GUÐANNA!" , _(__"YOU HAVE GONE FAR ENOUGH IN MOCKERY OF THE FIRSTBORN OF THE GODS!")_

Tuffnut seeing his sister crumple to the ground, immobilized and unresponsive jolted him from his stupor and launched him into a frenzy. With a shout he leaped towards his enemy, the spear already ready and armed. Using all his strength he aimed for the center of his enemy's chest and plunged the spear in the middle. Neroth didn't cry out, just a grunt of surprised pain. Insulted of his inability to be hurt, Tuffnut twisted the handle and the spear head together with the nearest part of the shaft exploded in fire. The exploding flame hurting his eyes and singed his gloves, but a raging fire made by Zippleback gas enveloped the Warlock as the attack drove Tuffnut away lest he be also be burned.

He stood beside Astrid as the dark mass in front of a raging flame quivered a bit and staggered to the side.

TILKOMUMIKIÐ! JAFNVEL MEÐ KURSED ÁRUNNI MINNI AÐ ÞÚ GÆTIR SÆRT MIG!" , _(__"IMPRESSIVE! EVEN WITH MY KURSED AURA YOU COULD WOUND ME!")_

The fire extinguished itself and Astrid and Tuffnut stared back in disbelief at his current state. His chest was cleared of the dark miasma that covered it and instead an angry burn that broke the skin and exposed a few bones could be seen. Neroth swatted the artificer spear that punctured him in the chest and it clattered to the wooden deck. There was a hole in the middle of his chest that spew out blood. The smell of burned flesh permeated the air as their enemy hissed in pain, how could he even move with such a mortal wound- how can he even speak and project himself to their minds after all that?

Such power!

To their added horror and grief, the exposed wound began to steadily heal itself without any assistance from Neroth. It was as if the darkness itself empowered his body even more.

"VERÐUG TILRAUN, EN TIL EINSKINS!" , _(__"A WORTHY EFFORT, BUT FUTILE!")_

Neroth raised his left hand, pointed his index finger at Tuffnut and shot him with a bolt of lightning. The Thornston's eyes widened, there was no means to duck or move out of the way, there was just a flash and a heavy thud on his chest.

Astrid looked at Tuff as he got down on his knees and clutched at his chest, the spell burned a hole on his armor right where he stabbed Neroth and easily came out of his back. The young man thudded to the ground, his eyes and lips both wide open in silent pain, his face locked in a grimace of agony.

"ENDURNÝJUN! EIGINLEIKI SEM VAR LITIÐ NIÐUR Á AF ÞESSUM FÁVITUM OG Í STAÐINN EINBLÝNDU Á KRAFT OG HRAÐA ÞEIRRA!" , (_"REGENERATION! A TRAIT SHUNNED BY THOSE IMBECILES AND INSTEAD FOCUSED ON THEIR POWER AND SPEED!")_ Neroth shoutd in her mind as he rubbed his chest and the wound closed completely, healed and renewed from the previous damage done by the Thornston.

The wound on Tuff's chest that was made by the eldritch spell penetrated and cauterized the area it passed through, severely wounding him yet removing all worry about him bleeding out. A choked gasp was all she heard as the male Thornston dropped down to the wooden deck wounded and unconscious.

She turned then to Neroth and her eyes widened at her immobility. He was clenching his left fist in front of her and his magical staff crackled with mad energy spewing in a dazzling crescendo of colors and fury. Her neck constricted magically and through the haze she managed to choke a small cry.

"ÉG HEF FULLKOMNA REFSINGU FYRIR YKKUR." ,_ (__"I HAVE A PERFECT PUNISHMENT FOR YOU,")_ from behind Neroth a small circle materialized and much like the 'memory stone' it beheld moving things and objects in it. Like a mirror or a box except conjured in the still air.

"FYRIR ÞESSA ÓKURTEISI OG DIRFSKU AÐ FÆRA OKKUR Í ÞETTA FORM, MUN ÉG SENDA YKKUR Í ILLGJARNA KRAFTS IMMATERIUM!" , _(__"FOR YOUR INSOLENCE AND AUDACITY TO BRING US TO THIS FORM, I WILL SEND YOU TO THE MALEVOLENT FORCE OF THE IMMATERIUM!")_

"HRÁ ORKA ÞESS MYNDI RÍFA YKKUR/ÞIG Í SUNDUR OG ENDURGERA YKKUR/ÞIG AÐ NÝJU Í HUNDRUÐI ÁRA! YKKAR/ÞÍN PYNTA

TILVIST MYNDI SITJA Í ALDIR EN ÞAÐ VÆRI AÐEINS AUGNABLIK FYRIR MIG!" , _(__"ITS RAW ENERGY WOULD TEAR YOU ASUNDER AND REMAKE YOU ANEW FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS! YOUR TORTURED EXISTENCE WOULD LINGER FOR CENTURIES YET IT WOULD ONLY BE A MOMENTS PASSING TO ME!"_)

"Li- like Valhalla?" she managed to choke out, the loss of air and consciousness weighed on her as she tried to squeak out a response.

"OH? VALHÖLL MYNDI VERA BLESSUN SAMANBORIÐ VIÐ IMMATERIUM!" , _(__"OH? VALHALLA WOULD BE A BLESSING COMPARED TO THE IMMATERIUM!")_ with a gesture she found herself floating, as if held up by his own overpowering will. "EN FYRST, MUN ÉG LEYFA YKKUR AÐ SJÁ ÖRLÖG SKIPS YKKAR!" , _(__"BUT FIRST, I WILL LET YOU SEE THE FATE OF YOUR SHIP!")_

Finding herself still immobile she saw Neroth floating effortlessly, levitating himself, and a wheezing dripping figure he seemed to pluck at the frigid sea. They floated a few feet off the ground that Astrid could see them making shadows on the wooden deck, the Warlock then raised his hand into the sky and the heavens darkened as black clouds violently roiled above them.

"HIMNESKT DRAG!" , (_"HEAVENLY PULL!")_

She flinched as a heavy feeling overtook her senses, like a great weight was suddenly put above her head and she bowed her head in the sensation. Abruptly, the feeling eased out of her and she looked around. Astrid saw Cythrax floating beside the Warlock as their enemy still looked into the heavens, his staff crackling with ruinous power as if he waited for something to happen, or someone to arrive.

Then a rumbling roar reached her ears, the darkened sky parted quickly, pushed away by the passing of a large burning object. The large heavenly object was spherical and it burned with such intensity, its brightness easily rivaled the sun. The sound she was hearing was the air it was compressing as it hurtled its deadly body to the ground. A burning meteor clearly hurtled from the sky towards her.

From her reckoning, if it would hit the _'Sea Wing'_, then their ship would be torn asunder. Its surviving sailors would perish in the frigid sea, their only hope for aid would be gone and no other word would reach Berk of their demise.

It was like the Gods sent this harbinger of death against them, an ill omen of future events, and yet this enemy that they were fighting, just conjured it out of nowhere.

"I see you have_ Kursed_ yourself," Cythrax's eyes opened for a fraction and saw Neroth in his dark glory, "You should have just killed her than toy with your food."

"FYRIRGEFÐU MÉR DROTTIN MINN, MÉR TALDIST ÞAU VERA OF MIKIL VANDRÆÐI AÐ VERA JAFNVEL YNDI SEM ÞRÆLL EÐA NÆRING." , _(__"FORGIVE ME MY LORD, I DEEMED THEM TOO MUCH TROUBLE TO EVEN RELISH AS SLAVE OR NOURISHMENT.")_

The Archon looked impatient, "I wasn't expecting the idiot _monkeigh_ to bring me into the water. That other boy sneaked a ballistae shot on me- it was quite innovative, but it damn hurts!" he looked to the meteor and huffed in annoyance, "Awfully large isn't it? 15meter diameter meteor probably- shouldn't affect the Citadel too much."

"EKKI HAFA ÁHYGGJUR HERRA MINN! ÉG MUN TAKA ÞÁTT MEÐ ÞÉR Í VEITUNGUM SEINNA, ÉG MYNDI VERA DJÚPLEGA VEIKTUR AF ÁSTANDI MÍNU SEINNA OG ÓSKA AÐ HVÍLAST DROTTINN MINN!" ,_ (__"DO NOT WORRY MY LORD! I SHALL JOIN YOU LATER IN REFRESHMENTS, I WOULD BE DEEPLY WEAKENED BY MY STATE LATER AND I WISH TO REST MY LORD!")_

"Very well-" Cythrax looked into the hurtling catastrophe and shook his head, "The Citadel is well-hidden, they would die here- we should go back now."

"AUÐVITAÐ DROTTINN MINN" , _(__"OF COURSE MY LORD,")_ his four eyes exuded power and both Dark Elves were engulfed with warp energies, Neroth then turned to Astrid and grinned, "OH, ÉG GLEYMDI NÆSTUM - TIL IMMATERIUM MEÐ YKKUR ÞÁ!" , _(__"BEFORE I FORGET- TO THE IMMATERIUM WITH YOU!")_

Dark energy also surrounded Astrid as she stared helpless at the hurtling meteor. Archon Cythrax and his Warlock, Neroth, finally vanished in a burst of light and the young woman felt that the force holding her finally left her. She could move again on her own as she stood up and looked around.

How in the world? What would she do?

Snotlout, the twins, all three of them now laid immobilized on the wooden deck. The sailors were all wounded, bloodied and confused, there were no coherent movements and Astrid stumbled to the side as her cousin grabbed on the side. His teeth chattering and his lips turning blue already.

"Give me your hand!"

Raising his uninjured hand, his head momentarily submerged before Astrid grabbed it and pulled him out of the water. Grunting hard she pulled him over the side and he flopped noisily on the top deck.

Shivering he asked, "Where's Arnar?"

"There," she shakily pointed at the stern of the ship where the crumpled forms of Snotlout and his adjutant lay prone to the deck, "We have more pressing things to worry about."

It was then Svail noticed the rumbling noise and looked up into the sky. His eyes widened in horror and he gulped audibly as Astrid sighed in despair. Slowly she could feel the dark force enveloping her, beginning to transport her to the Immaterium. A promised fate of destruction, pain and suffering seemed to await her and she swallowed the bile that rose from the pits of her stomach.

Her cousin's words seemed incomprehensible to her, the darkness engulfing her as the clawing consciousness of the Immaterium grabbed on her sanity and began pulling her within.

"DO NOT FALTER ASTRID!" a new powerful voice called onto her as she reopened her eyes and one of the other White Hands appearing before here amidst a silver wisp of light. He had no magical staff, but his gloves glowed with numerous runes and writings of unknown origin.

Gesturing one hand towards her it extended a shadowy claw and she immediately felt the powerful tug coming from the other sorcerer. The clawing of the Immaterium diminished and it seemed they were locked on a perpetual tug-of-war that left Astrid on the brink of Midgard and the Immaterium. Saying nothing else the Dark Elf looked at the hurtling meteorite and said, "I have to break concentration to destroy the meteorite."

"Can you not pull me in?"

"The spell is half-casted already, my power is the only thing binding you to this place!" the allied Warlock shouted, "The spell was casted by someone much powerful than me and I can do only so much. Forgive me!"

It was a statement that brought renewed fear to Astrid. She knew that the only thing holding her from being engulfed in the powers of the Empyrean was his own channeling spell. He didn't need to tell her twice that to stop his enchantments mean that she would plunge into the abyss, but even if he did managed to save her they would still be crushed by the meteor and it would put all their hardships to waste.

Biting her lip to hold her own feelings of dread and the gnawing pain of the Immaterium, she nods her head, fearful that to speak might betray her of her own emotions.

"Where will this take me then?"

"Worry not Astrid!" she felt him manipulate the already half-casted spell and the clawing sentience of the Empyrean vanished, "I have shifted the effects of the spell which will throw you to the Immaterium, it will spit you back out to Midgard. I don't know where it will be, but I promise he will find you Astrid!"

A simple nod and she felt his grip on her vanish, a bit of fear clutched at her and she felt the darkness finally overtaking her.

Meanwhile, as Astrid was taken by the teleportation spell, Rael the Warlock of the White Hands concentrated on the meteor falling on their heads. The sailors that managed to rally themselves attended to the Riders and to their other comrades. Drawing from his well of enormous magic, Rael summoned the might of the Immaterium and used its power to destroy the meteor.

Terror gripped everyone as the whole world seemed to shook at the overflowing power of its magic. By using himself as a conduit, he poured raw psychic powers into his hands and formed a ball of energy.

The meteor was not far now, even Svail despaired as his survival seemed moot. Finally, with the sound of a terrible rending Rael casts his spell at the hurtling tragedy, the power it took raised the sea and shook their senses, the ball exploded in a beam of light and lightning piercing through the sky.

Every able bodied Berkian dove for cover as the sky shattered before them. The spell obliterated the meteor, but the explosion shocked them to no end. As if the sky seemed to tear itself apart that they all got down on their knees and called out to the Gods. The force of the explosion threw them off their feet and almost capsized the longship. A last wave of water that inundated them swept the deck and finally it was over.

They were finally able to gather their senses as the averted catastrophe scattered its deadly payload in a hundred pieces.

Svail, disbelief etched on his face managed to walk near the kneeling Warlock and collapsed on his backside in front of the Elf.

"Who are you?"

"I am Rael, Warlock Adept of the White Hands- I came here as fast as I could after I felt the enemy cast that spell," the Dark Elf collapsed on the wooden deck, his gloves were darkened and its previous glowing runes were now inert, "I- I am utterly spent."

Gripping his amputated right hand Svail looked around and saw Snotlout staggering on his feet, "W- what happened to Astrid?"

"The enemy Warlock casts a spell that would throw her to the ruinous dimension called the Immaterium, I tried to pull her out of there, unfortunately, I was not powerful enough-" Rael sighed and stretches his body on the wooden deck, "I had to destroy the meteor, so I redirected her destination instead."

Svail was silent, the fatigue and exhaustion finally catching up to him, "W-where did you send her then?"

"I have no destination that I can focus on," Rael closed his eyes and said before falling asleep, "So, I redirected her to go to Midgard. She's somewhere here- we, just need... to find... her."

The Warlock fell asleep, he was not kidding when he said he was spent. Svail's men approached him, they were carrying a medical kit as he valiantly tried to fight off the dregs of sleep.

"Send word to Berk," he yawned as his men began dressing his wound, "We're retreating!"

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**To be continued...**

**Author's note:**

All readers, I would like to take this time to thank everyone that have reviewed so far. After 30 chapters, I find myself truly in a gratuitous state to the people that have not stopped reading and waiting for every update since Chapter 1.

I would like to say now that I continue for you people... and you have my utmost gratitude.

Nothing more will be said except thank you so much for spurring me on. (Not that I'm a horse or anything, its a figure of speech. Go figure it then!)

.

Thank you everyone,

Scarabeye3000

**P.S.** _Dies Irae_ means DAY OF WRATH. I was listening to the Mozart Version and is my "Tally Ho! song whenever I need to write fight scenes."

**P.P.S.** In case your all wondering whenever I write, I play 'Vivaldi's - Summer (Presto)' or sometimes any classical music with the same awesomeness. It'll get me in the zone.

**P.P.S.H. **This is the last one I swear, guys I have a 'Tumblr' account where I can post drawings from my fics. I'm really not a deviantart kind of guy, so if you want I'll be posting some pics there in the next few weeks. You can also give me requests and I'll try to get it on paper and scan it.


	31. Chapter 31

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Shout out to my signed reviews! You know who you are: **SMr. Freeze, yesboss21, Eeveecat1248, The Viking Stranger, jlghighlander, dracologistmaster**

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**Disclaimer: Any characters mentioned are all under copyright. This work is purely fan-made.**

**Title: From Asgard to Midgard**

**Author: Scarabeye3000**

**Chapter 31: **_**'Thread lightly, but carry a big SWORD!**_**_'_**

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Berk - a week later

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Hiccup Haddock III sat on the lookout of the large catapult on the sea side of the tower. After a week of endless waiting, the first report from their longship the _'Sea Wing'_ returned to them just a week ago. As he read the report then his blood ran cold at the extent of damage and hardships his peers managed to deal with. Their ship's navigational tools were mostly destroyed so they simply limped back to Berk by improvising on the way, the crew also had their own woes as their own sailing force was halved, thanks mostly to the actions of Cythrax. Slowly, reports came in through Dragon Mail that they were at least headed to Amon Sul and was planning to dock there. Rafiq upon hearing the death of Portio took it hard and began to train every single day with the Doppleganger, reliving past battles with Archons of other Kabals.

Revenge will come swiftly for the Iron Thorns.

Master Kaldr, having sent Rael first by teleporting to the ship and saving it from the falling meteor have finally rejoined them after a few days. Rael, their Warlock Adept redeemed himself through his actions, Kaldr and his cadre were hunting in France, when the power of the Empyrean was opened and the younger Dark Elf felt it. Zeroing in at that distance, and at that location was an incredible feat in itself, also laudable was the way he destroyed the meteor at the cost of his own body acquitted him of his failure to retrieve Astrid from the Immaterium.

He gripped the wooden railings with increased force, where in the world did Rael threw her at?

Snotlout, the twins were heavily wounded and in the reports it was also mentioned that Svail lost his right arm. He really hated it, but what he felt that would happen was right though, they were ambushed splendidly and they didn't know what hit them. At least they didn't go down without a fight, the reports lavished great detail on the defense of the Riders of Berk towards the _'Sea Wing' _including the fight at the beach and on the longship itself. However, the way that Neroth regenerated brought fresh worry to his mind.

Well, that's a different thing to worry about. Neroth of the Thousand Deaths, was an Elder Warlock of the Iron Thorns, he was the one that killed Rael's predecessor in single combat at the stalemate at Alfheim, rendering his enemy inside out before burning him with eldritch fire. Rael has as much reason for his death than all of them combined.

There is also the death of Portio, one of the last poison-makers of the White Hands and Chief Apothecary. He was the one that could make the antidote of the worst poisons, fight as strong as everyone else, and have a commanding presence when in a battlefield. Hiccup grinds his teeth in frustration, so much lost for so little gained. He looked down at the port where the _'Sea Wing' _was tied into. He could clearly see Jarl Fjall directing his men to their tasks as they retrofitted and repaired the crippled ship. True to their name of great carpenters and shipbuilders, the Ingermanns truly made a fine ship, even without the precision of a proper rudder, they managed to still get home with just full sails and a half-ass rudder for steering.

From behind the quiet footsteps of Master Kaldr made him turn, bowing low and putting his right hand on his left chest as a formal greeting.

The Archon was silent, yet his usual cold eyes bubbled with emotions, he bowed as the Master said, "You are grieving as if you lost someone very dear to you."

"Forgive Master if I look this way, it's just that- that-"

"That you hoped Rael could have pulled Astrid out of that spell?" the Master approached him and also leans on the wooden railing, "You must not blame Rael too much, as you know we were in France back then. This place is farther to the North, he only had minutes to prepare and we just finished raiding a castle that was being used by the Coalition as a staging area for their slave trade. He was not on full power that day and yet-" Kaldr sighed, "And yet he willed the Empyrean to use his body as a corridor and destroyed the meteor."

Hiccup kept his silence, the Master didn't usually speak, and if he did speak then it is prudent to listen intently.

"Now he pays for his recklessness-"

"How is he Master Kaldr?" Hiccup asked because it is expected of him.

"He would recover his burned arms, but the full psychic might of the Immaterium fell into his mind-" Kaldr sighed again and began to walk away, "-he still hasn't woken up since then."

"W-wait Master," the Dark Elf stopped as the young man approached him, "Master Kaldr, if- I mean- is it possible to accelerate the process of his healing?"

"Why yes of course, but it was Portio who knew things like that-" the Master sighed again, "-and the closest to a healer that we have is Varhey, and I wouldn't even trust him to make my tea let alone anti-venom!"

They laughed at the expense of their teammate as the light moment lifted his spirits a bit as he allowed himself to smile again. Kaldr bowed his head silently, feeling that he had done enough to assuage his anguish, backed out of the lookout and headed back to their Guest Halls. Realizing that he was moping he decided to pick himself up and head for the Dragon Cages. Stormfly, her dragon was locked up in the dragon cages of the _'Sea Wing'_ that they weren't able to help at the battle as the Deadly Nadder seemed to take the loss of Astrid not too well.

Hearing a thud behind him, he continued towards the Cages with Toothless following closely behind.

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As he made his way to the Cages he passed someone who walked slowly and as their eyes met, casually gave him a friendly wave. Snotlout grimaced as he approached his cousin and stared at the ground. The failure to return with Astrid weighed heavily on his mind and he could not shake the memory of their failed return. Hiccup's face back then held grief and muted sadness, not knowing the fate of Astrid or where she was even thrown to.

"Hey cousin!"

His upper body was covered in bandages and there were fresh spots of blood on his chest. Hiccup smiled a bit, he knew how valiantly he fought and this thought redeemed him in his eyes, "I'm all right, how about you?"

"Some of my wound's already closed, and I'm due for a bandage change."

The report Svail made outlined the effort and skill that his cousin showed. An excellent fighter he turned out to be, very strong, and very firm. His skill and fortitude came into play as he weathered every blow, matched Neroth's swordplay and even managed to survive albeit heavily wounded, "You know, Svail told me that you fought real well."

"Not well enough," the Jorgenson bit his lower lip, "I failed to bring back Astrid."

Losing Astrid was a blow that Hiccup wasn't prepared to take. He was about to attack alone with only Toothless at his side if need be, but Master Loki taught him well against such impulse.

Impatience and being irrational is a child's behavior, going beyond that would temper the world in your favor.

And so he remained in Berk, consolidating their forces for another quick strike led by Master Kaldr himself with Hiccup, followed by a determined attack led by Stoick and all of Berk. However, the Heir protested that their loss of time mean the loss of all chances to corner the enemy and possibly find Astrid. But his father was unperturbed, he was firm on awaiting all the Chiefs that would heed their call for a Federation to be established.

But so far, only Grug of the Uglithugs, and of the Burglars have agreed to come. Other tribes feared the reprisal and have openly withdrawn from the Coalition and have not even bothered sending back a reply. Regardless, Chief Stoick told all clans that are under Berk to prepare for the attack at the Citadel.

"Snotlout, when you recover I want your feedback on what else can we do on increasing the survivability of our warriors so they can fight another day," he gave his cousin a wave and started to walk away, "I'll be waiting on your feedback!"

"S-sure thing," Snot nods his head, the chance to speak the unspoken apology has passed. Whether by his deflection or his reluctance to hear them, Hiccup didn't stop until he finally reached the Dragon Cages.

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Røst-Norway

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The crossed keys and crown of the flag of the Papal States flew up in the sky as they prepared to leave the small town of Røst. Cardinal Torquemada looked out of the top deck they were standing upon and turned away as the blaze of the raging inferno they left behind hurts his eyes. His adjutant, the young Monsignor from Zaragoza who earned his patronage through the scourging Inquisition he unleashed on the countryside. Their ship was about to depart, they were merely waiting for the Pope's special envoy, Cardinal Martin and his Knight Commander nephew Helmut Dela Valle as they mopped up their operations for the heretics on this small port town.

Of course, he would not have burned the town and made all the heretics _'confess'_ them their sins under the pain of death and excommunication. And then they discovered that they still held to believes about Odin, Asgard, or some other nonsense.

He just couldn't see it anyway, why would they insist it is part of their culture when their sagas glorified such heretical figures. Truly, his church was the last light of defense against these barbarians of the North.

"Your Eminence," his adjutant bowed and gave him a small cup full of schnapps, "A little _'pick me up'_ to get your blood flowing again on this cold weather sir."

"Ah, much obliged-" the old Cardinal took the cup and drank it straight, it was smooth to his taste and had a sweet tangy taste of its accompanying fruit, "Hmm, did you put red berries?"

The adjutant smiled proudly, "No your Eminence, I got hold of some fresh oranges just before we left for the Danish coast. I was already mixing them when we left port and have just aged them now."

Cardinal Torquemada pats his shoulder as he received another cupful, "Monsignor Rico Lansing, I was right to have gotten you out of that monastery in Toledo. You would have rotted there writing books and other literature, I was right to see that you belong in the field, a man of the land blessed with the faith of Christ."

Monsignor Lansing smiled and began to fill his patron's cup again, but the Cardinal stopped him, "No, no- I've had two glasses already, I'm going to go to my cabin and rest. Why don't you wait for Cardinal Martin to arrive and the Knight Commander and share your excellent schnapps, I do love oranges."

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On the port town of Røst, Knight Commander Helmut Dela Valle walked on the mud strewn road. From all sides fire raged as the Inquisition drove the heretics back to their homes and lit it aflame. It was a punishment reserved to those that have embraced Christianity yet clung to their old beliefs of Gods, Fate and pagan superstitions. His face held no malice in them and as all warriors employed by the Holy See, he had an impeccable record of piety. His armor a simple cuirass with chain mail beneath it, and a large puffy bearskin cape that he draped over him as protection against the cold. A sword was tied to his waist and a small kite shield hung on his back with the emblem of the Holy See engraved on the front. They armors were all blackened and their holy emblem was the only thing white on them.

He shook his head and sighed, such a waste this was. If only they have kept their vows and their piety then they could have averted this disaster. He was still deep in thought when another Cardinal approached him from behind and gave him a smile, "How are you Knight Commander?"

"I am cold your Eminence, but this is expected of course on the North lands."

"Oh hush!" the old man waved him off, "I am your mother's cousin- and for that you may call me as such as we are only accompanied by ourselves."

"Forgive me uncle, for my forgetfulness and my uncertainty- it's just that I can barely remember you from my childhood."

"Yes, I'm sure Catalina made sure that you forgot me, she was truly offended when I did not marry the girl that she was rooting for and instead I went to the Church to become one of its priests."

Helmut nodded and sighed, he could not remember his face, nor anything about him, but the stories her mother told of him following his wishes despite the vehement protest of the family. Well, he can see now why, his uncle had a will that would not be swayed by no one. And because he left to become a priest, his mother had the unenviable business of holding the family together and leading the Knight Order even though she is a woman.

However, that is a tale for another day.

The Knight Commander smiled again and gestured towards the port, "Shall we go back now uncle?"

Cardinal Martin nods his head and walked ahead of him. They kept silent as the shouts of those locked inside their houses screamed through the air, their muffled cries of help didn't faze neither of them as the soldiers around them armed themselves for anyone that would dare come out of their houses.

"So, did you find anything of interest Uncle?"

"Yes," his uncle produced a small smooth black stone, almost obsidian in appearance as they continued the walk towards the port, "I uncovered this as I was searching around their pagan shrines. It held a special place behind the altar and it was the only thing unremarkable on a place of honor, and yet it held a special niche among the other objects."

Helmut looked at the stone and shook his head, "My ancient rune reading is rusty-"

"Hehe," the old man laughed a little, "It says here that on the age of the 800th year after the War of Ice-"

"War of Ice?"

Cardinal Martin shrugged his shoulders, "Some saga about Ice Giants invading the lands of humans and the Gods going down from the heaven to help and liberate us wretches. Well, on that time, it says here that the Gods left- I don't remember this translation- but it says the people that came with the Gods was left behind and they carried one of the keys to Ragnarok."

"Ragnarok?" Helmut asked, "End of the world as we know it?"

"Exactly, now nephew here is where it goes more muddled, the people then buried the key in Midgard and then vanished into antiquity."

They reached the port and they began to board the ship as Helmut lets his uncle board first, "Vanished? No other records?"

"Well, vanished is a broad concept- vanished could mean annihilated, outlived, or sometimes assimilated."

"Hmm, so we have people from the Gods that_ 'vanished'_ and the Key to this so called Ragnarok that the Holy Father wants us to find," giving the nod to the Captain, a horn was sounded as the soldiers that were left behind began trooping out of the port and headed for the galleon, "And they supposedly hid a key here?"

"Yes, I can't read it clearly anymore, but it says they stayed on an island off the Barbaric Archipelago called _'Beserk Island',_ there are no other details about it except that name."

Helmut gave a relieved sigh, "Well, at least we know where to look," he approached an adjutant and a map of the whole North Sea was produced, "This is the barbaric archipelago, it says a Warlord controls most of these parts-"

"Ah, that uncouth man called Drago?" the Cardinal scoffed at the name, "He boasted of fictional creatures such as dragons that would lay waste to our military, but does he not know anything of the scope of the world?"

"COMMANDER!" a lieutenant interjected as he saluted at their side, "We have finished the purging and have all units accounted for."

"Very well, inform the Captain that we would push on towards the Barbaric Archipelago-"

"Beg your pardon Commander, but Cardinal Torquemada expressly said that we would be heading for Tromsø after we finish our business here, shall we send a messenger pigeon then to the flagship?"

Cardinal Martin sighed and spoke to the Captain, "Captain, pulled up along side the flagship of Cardinal Torquemada."

"As you command, your Eminence," the Captain, a native of Sicily bowed in reverence and signaled to his First Mate, "Send the flags, heave-to at the flagship." The Captain adored the old Cardinal to the hilt, he was the one that agreed to baptize his little bambino before he became a Cardinal with no payment at all, and for that he was grateful for the chance to serve with him.

"By your command, Captain!"

As the galleon began moving towards the flagship already settled in the deeper waters, the Cardinal approached his nephew and sighed heavily, "This internal politics is killing the Holy See."

Helmut could only smile, he knew his uncle hated politics, it was the reason why he didn't want to run the family, "Still uncle, you were quite good at this-"

"COMMANDER! COMMANDER!"

The panicked call stopped them as they headed for the cry, from the top deck they could see sailors and soldiers scrambling away from the miasma that bluish ball of light that suddenly appeared in the main deck. Swords, spears, shields and arrows were armed as the orb thrummed with power. The Cardinal taking no heed on the cries for his safety approached the mysterious light, an insistent hand kept him back that made him look behind and saw his nephew clutching his traveling cassocks tight.

Huffing in annoyance he pulled his nephew instead and puts him at his front like shield, "There! You were so insistent to keep me safe then stay there in front of me and try to protect me from my curiosity, but I would like to see it for myself, if you may please Commander."

Helmut looked miffed at his uncle's audacity, but held back his tongue, the sailors were already uneasy with the mysterious light. Quickly he signaled to his second in command and shields were brought to surround the thrumming ball of energy.

"What is it Cardinal?"

The old man saw it was a young sailor, "I do not know child, but I'm pretty sure we would know this in a few moments."

Reaching a crescendo of the thrumming, all soldeirs and sailors stepped back as the glowing ball grew large and shuddered in the blink of an eye. A figure dropped from the large bluish light and finally it extinguished itself into hundreds of tiny lights, all eyes turned to the heap of object it spat out.

Helmut Dela Valle scanned the human that lay prone in front of them. Long blonde hair, fair skin, and a face that would rival any courtesan or dainty princess back on their homeland. Her dress could only indicate she was a warrior and it showed numerous nicks and dings. But the most incredible part of her armor was that it showed a red skull in the front, she looked like a barbarian at first glance, but her beauty made him gasp as his heart raced like no other.

Cardinal Martin stepped out in front of him breaking him from his reverie, "It- I mean- it's a woman!"

A feeling of uneasiness descended on the ship as all eyes looked at the strange girl that materialized out of the ball of light. They sheathed their weapons as Helmut took a step forward and looked intently at her face. Her skin was fair and smooth, with no blemish or ritual scarring, yet there were bruises on her face and a minute of blood dripped out of her mouth. Moving into action, the Knight Commander held the girl to him and began examining her whole body.

She was definitely involved in a battle, there were frays and nicks on her body armor and her face, although beautiful, was dirtied and soot-covered. Chivalry dictates that being a woman he must help her in anyway, even though she was holding a double headed axe. His lieutenant grabbed the weapon and wrenched it away from the unconscious girl's hands. Helmut was in the process of wiping her face clean when her eyes fluttered and his dark brown eyes met with the bluest he had ever laid his eyes upon.

Her face contorted in anger and Helmut was knocked back by her right knee coming up and smacking him on the side of his face. Stunned, he lets her go and was pulled away from the rampaging young woman by his lieutenant. The soldiers were also stunned in inaction, but quickly recovered as the blonde girl scrambled through them and managed to get hold of a wayward sword. Running towards the bow of the ship, the young woman was cornered by the pursuing soldiers, shields and spears at the ready. Helmut shook his head and gingerly stood up, never in his life had a woman dare struck him and succeeded. They were usually very fine, and very courteous, but this woman smacked him with a knee and almost knocked him out.

He didn't expect a woman was capable of that.

He didn't expect a woman could make his heart race like this.

"STOP!" he shouted as two soldiers lunged at her with spears, to his horror and delight, she easily parried the first and deflected the second. Adding insult to injury she managed to push her fiirst attacker off the ship and then stabbing the second one on the hip and knocking him backward, sending him tumbling back to a supposed third attacker. The soldiers looked at each other in silence, did she just?

The Knight Commander stepped forward and raised his sword then stabbed it into the ground. Helmut raised his two hands and started calming down his men.

She was gritting her teeth and the sword still raised in front of her, he smiled and bowed meekly, "Disculpe, senorita- umm- but we mean you no harm."

Relaxing somewhat, Helmut approached a little bit and said, "Can you understand me senorita?"

"May I have your name?"

Lunging forward to strike him, Helmut flinched but held his ground. The sword stopped at his throat and her voice sounded like pealing bells.

"Where am I?"

He was taken aback, but replied steadily, "You are within the Black Fleet of the- the Inquisition of the Roman Catholic Church-"

"The what? The Fleet of what!?"

"The Inquisition of the Roman Catholic Church-" he said uneasily as the flagship loomed over the horizon, "May I invite you inside our cabin?"

She still hadn't lowered the sword, which made the approach more dangerous, however, Helmut's charm and slow approach somewhat disarmed the girl and he banged on his armor chest and said, "I give you my word, as the Knight Commander of the Inquisition, that you would not be harmed."

There was an audible 'aww' at the background, the frustrated soldier that probably took a dip as the young woman finally gave a small smile.

Lowering the weapon, Helmut finalyl breathed easier as he gestured to his Uncle, "Maybe you can handle the Cardinal Torquemada and I shall handle this-"

Cardinal Martin huffed in mock amusement, "Just don't mess her up Helmut, we need to know where she came from- and how she came here to be- and why in the world that a barbarian like her can understand and speak Spanish and Latin."

Leading the way for her, Helmut opened the cabin door and proceeded inside with Astrid leaving the crew to their own devices. The Knight Commander relaxed, but he just found out that although she agreed to his suggestion, well she wasn't really relaxing. The weapon was still in her hand, she hugged the walls and made sure nothing was behind her. Her eyes darted here and there, then back to him.

She was cautious and very sure of her skill. Perhaps she thinks the situation here would be more favorable, a less violent outcome seems to appeal to her. Well, after handling his three soldiers, he could just believe it himself. Instead, he looked at the young woman in the eyes and bowed his head slightly, "My sincere apologies, it was a bit hectic when we found you so introduction were not made, my name is Helmut Dela Valle, Knight Commander of the Inquisition."

Her eyes slits for a moment, looking for any shred of untruthfulness, but finally her sweet voice said, "An honor to meet you Knight Commander- now, answer me, where exactly am I?"

"Look here," Helmut beckoned her to a map of Norway. She looked down at the chart and her eyes widened, from where he pointed she could see the islands near the North that encompassed Berk. She also had no idea why she could read and understand the writings in front of her, it seems something triggered in her mind and helped her understand. In any case, judging from the chart, she was not too far away from Berk. Maybe two weeks of sea travel, or five days on dragon back, she was still contemplating when she found a mark on the chart and her brows furrowed.

"Do you see where you're from?" Helmut asked gently

"You're going to Berserker Island?"

"What was that my Lady?" the Knight Commander's ears perked up.

She raised her chin and said, "I know the way to the Berserker Lands, I bring you there safely, this will be the payment for your services to me."

"but-"

"I came from a proud race of warriors Knight Commander, and I expect no favors from those that does not share my lineage. But, if its humanity you seek then I can oblige you and at least guide your ships through the endless fog on Hellheim's Gate."

"We don't even know if we even need your services my Lady, plus, it is an honor to assist someone with such vibrant beauty and strength."

"Charmed, but not charmed enough- accept my terms or I will find my own way back."

His ears perked at what she said, "So you came near the Berserker Islands?"

"No, my home is not there- its farther North and your map does not cover it."

Helmut accepted this and smiled, he walked over to a cabinet and took out a bottle of wine. Pouring a generous amount on two glasses, he offered one to her which she accepted. She waited until he finished his glass and finally took a sip on her own for she was really thirsty. She could hear the shouting of the men outside as the other ship that she saw on the horizon finally was side by side with their ship.

"My name is Astrid Hofferson, and I came from an island further North of the Berserkers- I came from Berk."

"Pleasure to have met you," Helmut smiled at her and averted his gaze, his face was flushed and he hated himself for it, "I am honored to have your name... my lady."

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**To be continued...**

**Author's note:**

More than half-way there.

Read and review please.

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Cheers,

Scarabeye3000


	32. Chapter 32

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Guest (Dragon Lover): You really want people to get castrated huh?

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**Shout out to, SMr. Freeze****, EeveeCat1248, The Viking Stranger, Poteytow, dracologistmaster, jlghighlander **for their signed reviews.

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.

**Disclaimer: Any characters mentioned are all under copyright. This work is purely fan-made.**

**Title: From Asgard to Midgard**

**Author: Scarabeye 3000**

**Chapter 32: _'Die Walküre'_**

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Black Fleet of the Inquisition  


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Cardinal Martin sat on one of the chairs brought out for him as the now six galleons of the Inquisition sailed in a line through the high seas. The events of a few days ago brought renewed grief to his weary mind as the stress of handling such an 'adventure' appealed to his inner child and sense of fun at the most. The old man sighed at his ironic misfortune, he was not young anymore and he knew that as far as investigating heresies this would be the last time that he would accomplish such task. And so, when the Holy Father introduced the thought of the Northern Inquisition, then he could not resist to do so, however, he was tasked by the Holy Father to look for a certain 'Key'. He then produced old scrolls and writings, some he knew that he never encountered in the Vatican Archives. No, he was sure that these heretical writings were only shown to the Popes and their predecessors. What shocked him to no end was the numerous Prophecies that have happened in the world that the writings clearly predicted.

When he pressed further the source of the arcane knowledge, he was reprimanded to never speak this again. Especially with His Eminence Torquemada, who seemed hell-bent to expunge the smallest taint of deviancy and heresy from the teachings of his Church.

And so, when he discussed his plan to separate from the flotilla, unexpectedly it was met with raised objections and angry voices.

Regardless, as soon as they neared the port of Tromso, then their ship along with its one escort would proceed towards the Barbaric Archipelago to pursue the leads to the 'Key' with the added assistance of the beautiful Valkyrie. Ah yes, his nephew called her that as he was simply smitten with her image. Well, in a male's viewpoint he could see why the Knight Commander would be enamored with such beauty. She was absolutely what a man of action could have ever hoped for, a spirit that only a warrior can possess, yet have the daintiness of a flower that bloomed early in a spring.

A loud shout and a grunt can be heard as he looked on the main deck, he shook his head at his thoughts. _'Yes, dainty flower indeed.'_

Astrid bested three men in quick succession as an ever growing pile of gold pooled on her feet. The soldier that she threw overboard on her first day of appearance was the first voice of dissent and quickly fanned the rumors that, it was a lucky shot, and he was just not careful. Without knowing that she can mysteriously understand Spanish, she quickly challenged him in his mother tongue that left the soldier speechless and open-mouthed. With Helmut looking on, she completely dismantled the three soldiers with ease and not even breaking a sweat. He also took note that she was more skilled than all his soldiers, even his best swordsmen could have a hard time against her, but maybe because she was a girl that they were holding back.

Oh, he's being chauvinistic again.

Helmut shook his head and smiled a little, the soldiers started walking away as no challengers stepped up after the dismantling she showed. Much to his surprise though, Astrid, or as he fondly called her 'Valkyrie' trained constantly with her axe. Oh yes, she demanded her axe to be returned to her, much to the chagrin of his second in command. She was doing moves he couldn't thought possible with the heavy weapon. Hell, he didn't know that an axe could be swung that way, or maybe he was being chauvinistic again and thinking that she couldn't lift such a weapon properly. In any case, he should just stop underestimating her and began to look at her as what she is.

A young woman like her would likely command respect, she would even probably be a leader of a Viking warband if any of her disposition reveals anything about her. Imagine, if someone like her would be your woman, strong, reliable and powerful. Able to fight toe to toe with- _why are the men cheering?_

He looked at her again and his eyes widened, their largest soldier, nicknamed _'Barbaro Mulatto', _a giant of a man born from a black Berber father and a white woman from Zaragoza. He shook his head, if she can take down _Barbaro,_ well, he might reconsider then his choices of wives to pick.

_"Senorita,"_ the large black man bowed respectfully, his chest was wide, his arms were long an his statue was simply gigantic in her eyes, "No quiero hacerte danio, por favor, ceder por favor."_ , ("I don't want to hurt you, please, please yield.")_

The men cheered rowdily, after three days of sea travel the sailors and men get jittery and uptight. With Astrid coming along and challenging the men to whoever would best her would get the purse of gold she currently has, and with every defeated enemy they are required to pay a penance for loss in gold. Well, after three days the sack began to burst and the blonde Valkyrie needed a second purse. It was in the pursue of a second sack did the challenge with Barbaro came about, the men were tired of being defeated called forth the largest of their numbers.

Paying him no mind, she smiled at him dangerously making him flinch, raising his sword and hammer he circled her steadily. Standing rooted on the spot, Astrid followed him with her eyes as he finally reached her back and his body exploded into action. Helmut looked on as Astrid extended her leg backwards, then as she spun to the left, catapulted the axe in a sweeping motion behind her. With the heavy weapon moving it was aimed directly at the charging soldier as Barbaro ducked and found Astrid's knee coming forward to the left where his face is. The giant man reeled back, she was small yet her hits carried the weight of a sledgehammer. In fact, all men are amazed at her whole physique, she has a lithe and compact frame, yet she hid a power that is honed by years of hardship and training. Secretly they envied the man that would manage to crow her, because not even the charms of their Knight Commander could even sway the heart of this young woman.

As _Barbaro_ lied down on the wooden deck, the young woman took the purse full of gold and walked towards the aft. There she was met by the Captain, Cardinal Martin and Helmut.

"Ah! How was your exercise?"

Astrid smiled, "It was invigorating, the men have been on their best behavior and have proven themselves gentlemen in my eyes, they've been letting me win all this time."

Helmut laughed a little, its not that his men were letting her win. She was just good with everything, even unarmed combat proved to be too much of a challenge to everyone aboard their ship. This was not the first time she seemed so mysterious in his eyes, it was as if she stood as a pillar of strength for all womanhood. He just couldn't quash his curiosity of her, "May I ask Lady Astrid... indulge my curiosity, where did you get your instruction of the blade?"

"Why do you ask?" she smirked as she wiped the sweat from her brow.

"Well, a good indication is that your stance is similar to some saber schools in Europe, but the way you utilize your sword play is so unconventional. You block with the pommel, sometimes the cross-guard and at one time when we were sparring you actually turned your broadsword into a rapier."

Her face darkened and she forced a smile at her lips, "I had an- an excellent teacher, but he was lost to us in our latest sortie and I fervently hoped that he's still with us."

Helmut and the Cardinal looked at each other, there was no lie in her eyes, "F- forgive me my lady, I have intruded on something painful for you-"

"No worries Commander, he would have smacked me in the head if I remained gloomy too long."

Helmut shook his head and also smiled, "You are an extraordinary woman my Lady-"

"Will it help if I tell you I know how to cook, sew clothes, milk the cows and churn butter?"

"Oh my gods! A woman with a sense of humor... and sarcasm?" the Knight grinned and shook his head, "Where have you been all my life?"

Astrid smiled a little and turned away, Cardinal Martin watched as she walked away and shook his head disapprovingly. Turning to his nephew, he said, "You shouldn't give the barbarian woman too much freedom."

Helmut smiled, "She's not a threat uncle, and she has given us her word about helping us."

"And you believe her?" he took a sip of his tea, "Don't let her beauty blind you Helmut."

_'Too late uncle'_ the Commander smiled, "You worry too much Uncle, I know where my loyalties lie."

Cardinal Malachi Martin rolled his eyes and huffed in annoyance. For now, the barbarian woman would help them, and if its any indication she would enjoy such freedom among the Inquisition as long as she was useful. He could still remember the vehemence and righteous fury the 'great' Torquemada threw at him at the moment he informed him of the knowledge that there was a heretic among them. It also took the last of his cunning and political maneuvering before he could be persuaded to deviate from his 'cleansing path' and instead pursue the securing of the 'Key' as mandated by the Pope. Cardinal Martin sighed again, truly this Roman politics is killing his church.

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After three days of continued sailing, the black fleet of the Inquisition looked up at the high walls of fog coming from Hellheims Gate. All the crew gathered at the top deck looking with apprehension at the thick smog generated by the active volcano on Dragon Island. It had considerably receded in recent years since they dislodged the Red Death with the help of Hiccup. Astrid looked smug as Helmut studied the map and coordinates compel him to move through the fog or risk going around this smog bank and risk a greater calamity by waiting for the winter months to come.

Turning to her, Helmut almost regretted it as he saw her smiling smug at him, "I never thought it would be this intense- the cloud is so... so... so thick!"

"I told you," Astrid looked smug beside him, "Five years ago it was higher and it reached the whole of Berserker Island and covered it in a covering bank of smoke. A gigantic dragon made its lair in a nearby island and sent its minions on raids against human settlements. You might not believe me, but it took 300 years before the war has stopped."

The Knight Commander looked wryly, she always insisted that dragons and humans coexisted with each other. The Spaniard shook his head, she was perfect in his eyes, yet her continued insistence marred his view of her a bit. Yet, it did not dampen his growing affection for him. The Commander shook his head and sighed, this was dangerous thinking and he knew it. Considering her age, and her obvious trait, there is no man that would not go through great lengths without getting her back. But the matter of finding this mysterious island is on their top priority and maybe, just maybe Cardinal Torquemada may pursue his cleansing later on.

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Berk

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Hiccup seethed impatiently, its been days since he allowed to be cowed and follow his father's orders. He stayed at Berk, oversaw some projects, trained harder and just kept his mouth shut. Frankly, just getting his mouth shut was an achievement in itself, and his father and Gobber kept giving him a wary eye. But knowing the Heir of Berk's own personality they were generally would be kept on edge.

But Master Kaldr whispered to him a new plan.

Within the week, with or without Berk's help they would attack the Citadel with him, kill everyone inside that bears the mark of the enemy, free all slaves and prisoners, no quarter for the enemy. They would find Cythrax and Neroth, slay them both and tore down their Citadel walls. Two days ago, Rael finally woke up from his coma and immediately talked with Hiccup. Slowly, he was able to describe the place where he managed to send Astrid. He was vaguely thinking of the whole Barbaric Archipelago, the nearest locations where he could redirect her destination had been to the outskirts of the Nordic Kingdoms at the mainland.

So, starting from the coast of Norway, they could plot a search pattern for her stretching from the mentioned coast then towards the Citadel. When they plotted on the map, the search grid revealed an area of 500km in diameter, with numerous uncharted island and territories unexplored by their clan.

He was about to rush forth and take their best tracking dragons, however, he was surprised to find his father already packed to leave Berk with his two Lieutenants Lugnut Thornston, Bjornn Hofferson, and Spitelout Jorgenson. All four of them brought tracking dragons from their family as they loaded the newest Dragon Carrier named _'Leviathan's Spear',_ a ship that sported not only one, but two catapults, sails and six cages for the dragons.

Armed with ballistae and bola launchers, a single salvo could pepper the skies and subdue a space easily. Complemented with a full battalion of soldiers and sailors, coming up to a total of almost 300 men. The Berkians took the abandoned flagship of Drago, for almost all their fleet now consisted of the robust and large constructs that the dead Warlord used, converted to their own designs and specifications. With the _'Sea Wing'_ acting as an escort, the two ships sailed outward, into the far edges of the Barbaric Archipelago.

So, here he was left at Berk.

Seething and sighing for all to see and move away at. Now, doing his duty would be good and all, but he just couldn't concentrate especially with Astrid being stuck some in God knows frakkin' where in this God forsaken cold wasteland he called his home! He was still grumbling when an unexpected person came up to him.

"Hey!"

"Eret?" his eyebrow was raised, "I thought you would have already went on your way?"

The former pirate tried to smile, but just shrugged his shoulders, "Well, what can I say- I wanted to leave already-" he sighed as if struggling to say the next words. "But, I feel responsible for this disaster that happened."

"Why do you say that?"

Eret looked at the sea and shook his head,"You were honorable Hiccup- I was a Pirate, a mercenary and you had a chance to hold my life in your hand. But you let me go and gave me freedom I was not expecting."

Drawing his swords, Eret stabs them to the ground and looks up at the bewildered young man, "Let me pledge my loyalty, as a mercenary, my word is as good as my life. Now allow me to give you my loyalty, and give service until you find your Lady- I assure you, I could be of great service to you. I will lend you my ship if you would ask it of me."

"How good is your ship to me if I can't leave anyway? The remaining Lieutenants of my father, Gobber and my mother has barred me from leaving. Even my friends were made to swear in the penalty of expulsion from the Clan to keep me here inside of Berk."

The pirate smiled as he stood up, he puts a hand into Hiccup and said, "Trust me and let me handle that."

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Gobber stood on the port as if surveying the three longships remaining inside of Berk. They were still undergoing retrofitting anyways and all supplies aboard have been moved to the warehouses so there was no danger of losing them to the sea. No, what he was concerned about was Hiccup.

He knew that boy could not be kept here for such a long time and it would be just him to exploit an unguarded moment when he would vanish with the flapping of black wings or the swish of the sails. He also knew that he would never disobey his mother, oh sure, he would completely ignore Stoick for whatever he's worth, but his mother was a different story. She was like a beacon that could calm his raging emotions, just like what Astrid could do.

Oh that lass, the blacksmith shook his head, he just seemed so lost without her at arms length, and for starters, he was one of the Elders that approved of letting Astrid come within the Coalition Islands. He felt burdened with the guilt of her loss, but he also knew none bore it more than Stoick. The happiness his son found with Astrid he could never replace, and so on the first sign of finding her, he saddled up and gave strict orders not to let Hiccup go and let the Chief and his Lieutenants do it on their own.

"This is a bloody tight spot we have here," Gobber sighed and shook his head, "Am I getting old or what?"

The blacksmith started walking towards the workshop as the second day of excavations for the tunnels went underway, the worker dragons continued tunneling the whole mountain as he continued his smith's duties. Taking on two more apprentices aside from Hiccup, the weapons that are currently turning out of the workshops continued to improve each day. Now, if only Gobber could replicate Hiccup's technique in making the rider's cuirass of aluminum and steel and then everything would be right and dandy all around. But every armor of that kind made took him almost 10 hours each just to bond the complicated metals and forming it into its final shape before reheating it again and finally they have a finished armor. He shook his head, the hammering and binding he could delegate, but the final reshaping and hardening he couldn't just entrust to his new apprentices.

Gobber sighed again, "I am getting old."

Rushing of wings made him look up into the sky, ready to bolt towards the workshop and raise his sleeping dragon to chase after Hiccup. But it was only the Dragon Mail arriving, sighing again heavily, he quickly headed towards the Mead Hall to welcome the incoming mail.

Arriving at the Mead Hall, the numerous Terrible Terrors circled around until finally he rang the bell signaling them to fall in line according to their arrival time. That included fewer burned mail since the Terrors could be trained to follow the first arrival, Gobber sat down on the special seat reserved for the receiving who will receive the Viking. With two buckets of fish already beside him he faced the first Terror and took the scroll from its back, the small dragon chirped and warbled, which made him give a whole fish.

"Off you go then!" shooing the already fed dragon, it quickly flew to one of their roost atop the Mead Hall. Gobber opened the first mail and read:

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_"Reports from the Eastern Outpost: Elostirion"_

_We have encountered trading ships from the Port town of Slavorra, Duchy of Moscow._

_Traded a total of 20 sets of excellent swords, spears, and tower shields from the House of Foleyevich. _

_ Acquired 50 sets of bearskins. Winter reportedly harsher in Siveria and beyond._

_Acquired 3 barrels of fresh fruits and berries, will send 2 barrels and requisition 1 for tower._

_Berk fishing fleet sighted yesterday just after sunrise. Docked at exactly twilight,_

_12 barrels of fish iced and ready for transport to Berk tomorrow. Will requisition 2 for tower._

_Request change of guards on next full moon."_

"Well, the Eastern tower guarding the Rus seems ok- we should send them some barrels of ale in the next replenishment ship," Gobber noted and wrote down on the log to be passed on to the quartermaster later if he could at least come to work. That half-blasted drunkard! He bent down and took another scroll from a waiting Terror

_"Reports from the Northern Outpost: Angrenost"_

_Snow. More bleeding snow everyday._

_'Banya' (steam baths) finally working!_

_Berkian Surveillance team reports going to the outskirts of the map then a loop towards the frozen sea._

_Supplies down to 2 barrels of fish, emergency sheep ration already slaughtered. Requesting an increase _

_food supply only. Water and dwelling fully established, dragon stables at full capacity._

_Encountered two pods of whales, and a herd of Scauldron. Dragons sighted converging on site._

_(Plotted on accompanying map, with rough sketch of whales and Scauldron herd and size.)_

_Request of additional wine or brew barrels raised by garrison."_

Gobber jotted down the necessary information and shook his head, "So, the Northern tower is finally finished- boy that would be the most hardest outpost we made. Thor help us then," he was about to reach for another scroll when an obvious disheveled looking Viking ran up to him and looked at him sheepishly.

The blacksmith looked miffed, "Do you want me to guess what happened to you last night?"

"Oh come on Gobber," the disheveled Viking huffed defeatedly, "Its not like it was my first night to get drunk. You usually get drunk too right?"

"Aye! I do get drunk!" he looked indignant at the quartermaster, "But I always made sure that before the crows crowed I'm already pounding on my anvils before someone can do it for me."

"All right, all right," the man waved his hands and bowed a bit, "I'm sorry- no more brew for me tonight then."

"No more brew? Or no more barmaid?"

The quartermaster blushed profusely, "Wha- how- wai-"

"Oh shut it! Your the only unmarried young man and you obviously had eyes for our newest barmaid- now, go get me a bottle of brew and let me finish this or I'll report you instead!"

"...but- but it's only morning! Brew in the morning?"

Gobber looked at him scaldingly, "Go get me my bottle, or else..."

Throwing up his arms in surrender, the blacksmith opened the next report and jotted down the information.

_"Reports from the Southern Outpost: Echtelion"_

_Encountered traders from the Norman Kingdoms, allowed passage and headed for Berk in next sunrise._

_Chief Stoick passed by two days ago with 'Leviathan's Spear' and escort 'Sea Wing'. heading for Rost, Norway._

_Encountered Trader Johann, delivered 2 barrels of fish and 2 barrels of fruit and 1 barrel of mead and brew each._

_The garrison thanks Berk for the additional rations. 5 barrels of excellent cured meat acquired, will send Berk 3._

_Single black ship sighted, possibly galleon class, black wood and sails, unknown flags and heraldry. _

_Followed by three more identical ships and quickly turned towards the West. _

_Possible approach to Berk or possible approach to Iceland. Will send out paired riders in midday._

_Request weapon upgrades and new grinding stones. _

_Arnaf Olafson __dropped the grinding stone and broke in half. __Will pay with half wages for the week._

_Bollocks he says"_

Coughing and spluttering as he laughed at one of the guards misfortune, he shook his head and reached for the next report. Giving the Terrors their bribe of 1 whole fish, he unfurls the scroll and his eyes buggered out in surprise.

_"Reports from the Western Outpost: Amon Sul" _

_Encountered no one yesterday. Saw 1 fishing fleet from the Celtics, but turned away when they sighted the sent riders._

_Received 2 barrels of fruits, fish and cured meats, 1 barrel each of ale and brew._

_Weapons traded from passing craftsman already sent. Destroyed two pirate ships. No survivors._

_Encountered six black ships from the South. Sent word to Echtelion but no reply yet. _

_Past records show no encounter with flag and heraldry. _

_Will shadow with paired riders until horizon's edge__. Rotation of sentries if necessary._

_Flotilla of Chief passed two days ago towards the South._

Gobber finished encoding the messages when the quartermaster arrived. He was carrying a bottle of brew fresh from the warehouse as he saw the blacksmith hunched down and frowning at the message logs.

"Bad news?"

"Not really, there's a new fleet trying to approach Berk, two outpost reports their coming and both are not sure of their objectives yet."

"If they pass the 'Amon Sul' they could besiege the garrison."

"They could always fly to Berk, there's no ship docked there anyway- with the loss of Astrid, I'm sure the Riders are itching for trouble," Gobber stood up and took the bottle, "Any kind of trouble!"

Gathering the notes, the quartermaster shooed off the last of the Terrors and waved the message log to the blacksmith, "I'll copy this and send one to the Chief's house for Hiccup- Gilda wanted to say that roasted walrus blubber is for lunch!"

"Argh! More food to pop me arteries!"

"Aye!"

"I'll see you later then!"

Gobber then made a beeline for the workshop as the new riders began to practice riding around the town. The Twins are the designated maneuver teachers today he could see, poor students, the twins would likely end up burning half a house again today and-

**BOOM!**

A pillar of rainbow light smashed on a clearing just beside Gobber as he dived for cover, all around the Vikings poked their heads out of windows. Grabbed swords and shields, as the blacksmith scrambled for space. The wind howled in their ears as three shadows were hurtled from the heavens, dusting himself off, the amputee quickly changed his utility arm for his sword arm. A young man garbed in green scale and cuirass armor landed beside him, as two more Dark Elves appeared out of the shadows.

Master Kaldr himself appeared and joined Gobber on the other side.

"Who are they?'

"Relax Gobber," Hiccup whispered next to him, "They're Asgardians."

"How can you be sure lad?"

The Heir of Berk looked at him miffed, "That's the rainbow bridge, I came down through it remember?"

"Oh!" realization dawned on him and he relaxed his sword arm, "All right then-"

The rainbow light danced violently as it whipped up dust and shook the air. Finally, it slowed and the light receded into the heavens, and inside the runed circle came three men clad in three different armors, but the three held friendly and familiar faces, well the two at least held friendly faces. Fandral and Volstagg smiled brightly at Hiccup as Hogun's permanent scowl remained endearing in his eyes.

"Hiccup!" Volstagg the Valiant booming voice called out to him, "Good to see you lad!"

"Hiccup," Fandral bowed a bit and smiled like a fox, "How are you dear boy?"

"Hn!"

Hiccup could only smile, his three trainers gathered before him, "Welcome my friends, welcome Warriors Three!"

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**To be continued...**

**Author's note:**

I finally had the guts to upload some fanart by me: look for my account at tumblr... my username is _'scarabeye3000'._

For now I posted a rendition of Neroth the four-eyed Warlock and a concept armor for Snotlout!

Thanks for the awesome reviews guys. It really pushes me!

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Thank you everyone,

Scarabeye3000


	33. Chapter 33

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Guest (Dragon Lover): She's a Berkian mate, not a Berserker!

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Shout out to my signed reviews! You know who you are: **SMr. Freeze, Eeveecat1248, The Viking Stranger, dracologistmaster, yesboss21, jlghighlander, Poteytow**

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**Disclaimer: Any characters mentioned are all under copyright. This work is purely fan-made.**

**Title: From Asgard to Midgard**

**Author: Scarabeye3000**

**Chapter 33: **_**'Ha! HA! FOUND YOU!**_**_'_**

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Berk 

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"Hiccup!" Volstagg's booming voice cuts through the howling wind, "Good to see you boy!"

The young man approached the largest of the Warrior's Three and accepted the hug. The stout warrior was larger than his father, for his appetite and size was legendary in the Nine Realms. His blood red armor and long feather ornaments on his helm stood out in a battlefield and not once did he rally behind such a stalwart warrior. Right beside him, the dashing and impeccably dressed Fandral looked on as Hogun looked sharply at Archon Kaldr. A heavy silence descending on them as Hiccup lets go of Volstagg and claps the shoulder of both Fandral and Hogun.

"It's good to see you both."

"I wish this were a social visit," the grim warrior stepped forward and engaged his spiked mace, "But we are here on a more dire purpose."

Rafiq also stepped forward, his sword already out of its sheath and blocking the Asgardian's way as it began approaching his Archon.

"You might want to back down a bit little Hogun-"

"-I don't answer to you, little fairy."

"How dare you-"

"ENOUGH!" Master Kaldr shouted as Rafiq stiffened and yielded to his Archon. Hogun also stepped back and surprisingly heeded the words of the Dark Archon of the White Hands. The leader of the Dark Elves then turned to Hiccup and spoke softly, "Perhaps it is wise to speak without company."

They finally turned their eyes and saw Berkians looking at them with a distance that seemed to show that they had the plague or something. Agreeing all around they marched to the longhouse and barricaded themselves in. Gobber, left alone shrugged his shoulders and decided to prepare the requested supplies by the outlying Outposts.

Inside the longhouse, Archon Kaldr sat on the only chair as Hiccup started a fire quickly warming up the place. From a chest the Heir of Berk quickly served mead as the Warrior's Three and Archon Kaldr sat in a circle at the front of the fire hearth. As the last of the mugs of ale were served, the Archon looked into Hogun's eyes and said, "I can sense a great urgency and desire of violence upon you. Say it and don't hold your tongue, lest you bite yourself and taste your own blood in mouth."

"Forgive me Archon for my actions and my impetuous attitude towards you," Hogun, noticeably calmed down as he weighed the situation. The Dark Elf welcomed them calmly, he was patient with him for his insolence and his obvious slip in Asgardian diplomacy. "I should not have deployed my weapon."

Kaldr inclined his head for a little, indicating all is forgiven, "Tell me now, why are you in such a haste to tell me that we almost traded blows with each other?"

Fandral leaned forward and said, "Master Kaldr, it has come to our attention that your deployment was... 'illegal' in a way."

"Explain."

"King Odin Allfather has investigated the deployment of your company in this realm and have found glaring inaccuracies. It also highlighted several errors in command, hence, the confusion upon which you were deployed today."

Kaldr's frown intensified, "So Lord Odin has investigated the reason for our deployment? Is it not clear that we need the most experienced of the White Hands in this endeavour. We have followed all mission parameters dictated by Lord Heimdall, how can we be issued such erroneous orders?"

"We do not know," Hogun shook his head sadly, "Only Lord Odin and Lord Heimdall have access to such arcane communication. Somebody managed to disrupt the communications and alter the mission parameters."

"Show me the original parameters."

Hogun approached Kaldr and gave a memory stone as everyone else looked on. Swiping the front of the stone, light began to shine from the stone and illuminate the Archon's face. Silently he read the letters coming out like a hologram as the 'corrupted files' and the safe ones phased before his eyes. Frowning in silence, the screen darkened and the Archon shook his head in disbelief.

"Why have no one seen this error?" his anger held in control, "We have lost a great deal of time dealing with something that we weren't originally ordered to do!?"

"As far as Lord Odin has seen, and all evidence points to... umm..." Fandral looked at Volstagg first then to Hogun as he visibly hesitated, "... to Lord Loki."

Silence as long as a blink of an eye, when suddenly a ring of power surged through the longhouse emanating from the Archon himself. The other Dark Elves kneel to the ground as the surge overwhelmed their senses. Even Hiccup felt a deep sense of nausea as they all felt the disbelief and anger coursing through them. The Warrior's Three tensed, but kept their blades in place. They didn't even notice him standing up, his face contorted in a mask of rage and absolute hate.

Kaldr's voice quivered in his anger, "We have lost our last Elder Healer, my first cousin whom I teased endlessly because of his abstinence to female companionship- my COUSIN PORTIO!"

"I know how much he means to you Archon, and believe me Portio could be very endearing even to the ones he just met-" Hogun frowned, "Even me- but, all evidence points to Lord Loki's interference with the sudden destruction of all the key restraining the Nidhogg, save for the Asgardian key and the one your tasked to find, and his sudden vanishing in the _'sight'_ of Lord Heimdall doesn't really help in dispelling reports of his _'supposed' _duality."

The Archon finally sat again as the Dark Elves assembled around him. Closing his eyes and deep in thought, the Archon then opened his eyes, the decision already made, "I will continue the directives imposed upon me-"

"-but Master Kaldr..."

"-WE will continue our mission as is our custom, and then we would find the ones who costed us the life of our kin!"

The Warrior's Three and Hiccup looked at each other, unsure of how to respond. But the Archon has decided, the White Hands are a separate organization unto themselves, answerable only to Lord Loki or Lord Odin. Though they may at occasion, defer to others, they kept any deviations to a bare minimum. They all knew Archon Kaldr would pursue this further, if not in its fated conclusion.

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Hellheim's Gate

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The helmsman stood uneasily behind the main wheel, Commander Helmut and Cardinal Martin also stayed silent as Astrid took the main wheel and begins steering the ship through the stone spires. She managed to lure a Terrible Terror and tie it into the balustrade in front of the wheel house. With every twitch of the dragon's head, she would make corrections on the bow of the ship. A second ship follows them from behind, while the flagship and the rest followed from a safe distance.

The crew still hadn't wrapped their heads about the knowledge how Astrid could capture a dragon, but the proof was there tied right in front of her. A mixture of orange and green colors on its scales, and large yellow eyes, all sailors stood gawking at first as the little dragon chirped as the blonde Valkyrie crooned softly asking it in her native tongue to help her. The smart little dragon nodded its small head, meaning that it understood everything she said as the memory stone she kept hidden on her neck glowed steadily.

Unbeknownst to her, the memory stone does not just leave you with memories, but allows you all language perception and utilization on the whole Nine Realms.

In short, it allows you to understand and be understood by whoever you are conversing with. A well-known trait by all Asgardians, but completely alien to anyone else. A fact forgotten by our hero himself.

And so as she guided the Inquisition Fleet towards Berserker Island, a glimmer of hope burned in her heart. As the cold winds sapped the energy and morale of these Imperials, it empowered her as the usually bone-deep biting wind affirmed her of her land. She was actually thankful of the White Hand Warlock who managed to intervene and changed her destination. What's more is that the Inquisition or rather these Catholics proved easy to strike a bargain with. However, she still felt uncertain at the people surrounding her, so she kept her axe near her all the time. She demanded to rest before they would enter the Fog Wall on two reasons, one is that they could pass the Fog Wall now and be at the shores of the Berserkers by sundown, two is that she just wants to separate with them as quickly as she can.

But, as far as she knew a patrol comes here once a week, but if they changed the schedule then she would just need to survive for a whole week then.

She looked behind her and saw Cardinal Martin and Commander Helmut looking at her intensely. Survive for one week huh? Not bloody likely. They have been quite civil all this time and have only honored their word to her, but it could all change in a matter of seconds. No, she told herself, she would need to find a ride out of here on her own.

"Everything all right my Lady?" Helmut called out to her.

She nodded in affirmative, her eyes returning to the Terrible Terror in front of her, "After we leave the Fog Wall, we'll need to release this dragon."

"But why?" Cardinal Martin sounded irritated, "This- this creature is a... a fascinating find that would benefit the modern world greatly. And you say that there are larger ones that can fly you off to the heavens?"

_'Oh? So, now you believe everything that comes out of my heretical mouth?' _she simmered silently as the way he said 'creature' grated greatly on her nerves. The way he said it was just so full of contempt that the last thing he seemed to truly imply was the betterment of the modern world.

_'Not bloody likely,' _she scoffed, "If we don't release it, more and more would look for it and we may need to deal with something you do not want in your hands," she lied of course, the Terror was a scavenger judging from its many scuffles. Probably an outcast, but what ever the case she could send it off with one of her belongings and hopefully a patrol would find it.

"Is that true Lady Astrid?"

_'Even the way he says 'Lady' makes my skin crawl,'_ Astrid thought as the old Cardinal felt like he was feeding her hollow words, "Don't worry Cardinal, I shall keep my word to guide you to the Berserker Isles- with or without this dragon."

The little Terror kept its eyes forward, its sixth sense attuned to the environment in it. Tilting its head left and right it slowly guided the fleet through Hellheim's Gate. A few longships hung on the sea spires as the past dragons that guarded the passage to Dragon Island vacated their location after the destruction of the Red Death. Skeletons, probably from old raiders and some lost souls that perished in the seas clawed their way upwards as other bones Astrid identified as dragonic in nature were seen here and there.

For half a day they veered left and right, in some parts the fog was so thick that the four trailing ships were forced to heave-to or else, risk becoming lost to the low visibility, or smash their hulls to the looming sea stacks. Astrid also knew that there was a spot here that Scauldron's used for their breeding ground that Valka told her. She laughed silently, if these Catholics saw a full-grown Scauldron, imagine how funny would that be?

They would be swarming the deck like ants!

"Are you ok Lady Astrid?"

"Yes!"

Sheesh! These guys just don't let you leave alone. They were becoming too overbearing that she just didn't have a single free time for herself. To collect her thoughts or at least- wait!

Damn it! What the hell was the first tenet Portio told them?

_'err... Walk softly, and carry a big sword!?'_

_"No! Damn it! Remember Astrid!"_

_'umm... Spill no innocent's blood'_

_"NO! That's the first... second?"_

_'Come from the shadows right?'_

_"Ugh! Still not helping!"_

_'Never compromise your allies!'_

_"ARGH!, that was really unhelpful-"_

_'TRUST NO ONE, not even the one you love'_

_"Frakking HELL! That's it!"_

Astrid looked at Helmut, then at Cardinal Martin and fought the urge to bite her lower lip in anger, she became too complacent that she didn't notice that the soldiers were bunching up near the top deck. Behind her was the two best swordsman just standing amazed at one corner, but their swords not leaving their sides. Even _Barbaro_ stood just behind Helmut, the ones loitering near the wheel were armed with shields and short swords. They were planning to double-cross her, maybe after they break the fog wall, or when the Berserker Island is in sight- but hell, this is a tight spot.

A ray of sunlight blinded her for a moment as the fog wall ended.

On the horizon, with the fog wall suddenly terminating and revealing a calm sea in front of a jagged landscape of a nearby island. The Berkian gasped, she wasn't expecting that the fog bank retreated even further, it was nearing winter so shouldn't it stretch and cover at least the fringes of the island itself. She must reach the island and-

"There's Berserker Island!" she turned and the gaze Cardinal Martin gave Helmut didn't escape her, "There's a tribe of wild Vikings on that island, are you sure you want to go there?"

"Finally she shows hesitancy," Helmut grinned softly, "Do you fear them Lady Astrid?"

"It's not that I fear them, but I'm pretty sure you've never fought an enemy that has disregarded their own personal safety to kill you."

"Hmm, I see what you mean- in other words, religious fanatics?"

Astrid chuckled, "Unlikely, they fight for the thrill of battle. They bleed to make their hearts feel alive, they kill just to spill anybody's blood."

"Regardless, you have my thanks my Lady- we could not have negotiated the twisting and turning through that fog wall without your help-" Helmut nods in agreement, "-but we must pursue our first agenda of reaching Berserker Island."

"CAPTAIN HAS THE HELM!"

Astrid lets go of the wheel as she approached Helmut, her axe resting on her shoulder. "Helmut, I must say that I didn't warn you?"

"Are you really so concerned about my welfare?"

She offered her fist and said, "You were at least honorable."

His eyes tightened for a moment and she felt relieved, apparently he still felt a little consciense on what they were about to do. But without his command, she was sure they would not engage her. She headed down to the main deck and headed for the cabins. Carrying the Terror with her, she shuts the door and ran to the window at the end of the cabin room. She could hear people walking around above and in front of her barricaded cabin door. If her judgements are correct, it won't be long before these Christians decided to send her to the brig, or stab her in the back. Well, it was a different thing for them to be shocked at the first time they saw her, but now that they could be quite determined when facing her. Well, she's still one young woman against a ship full of male soldiers and sailors, a whole lot could happen to her. She shivered at the thought, yet her strength and fearlessness caused her to steady herself. If they should ever overpower her, she would make sure that they would get her when she's already dead.

But why the hell would she wait for them to move against her?

Opening the window quickly, she then replaced the rope around the neck of the Terror with one of her skull ornaments. Tying it securely with one of her leather bindings she whispered a prayer to the Gods, then a quick message for the feisty little dragon and lets it fly outside of the open window. As the small dragon headed for the fog wall a soft noise behind her made her turn-

"What did you tie to that dragon?"

The voice made her turn her head towards the door and an angered Cardinal Martin stood in the middle of the door. She didn't hear her for she was too preoccupied with what she was doing.

_'Oh crap!'_

"I am asking you barbarian woman!" the old man's eyes were manic, "I would not jeopardize this expedition just for some unbelieving wench! Guards!"

A soldier raced inside, but before the Cardinal could bark his order, the guard exclaimed, "We're under attack Cardinal! Please stay here, orders from the Commander!"

"What- wait!"

From the outside, they could both hear the sounds of war drums booming in the distance. Shouts from the shore as the loud voice of the Knight Commander rose over the howling din. Cardinal Martin strode over to Astrid and grabbed her arm, "You! What have you done?"

"Let me go if you wish to keep your arm old man!" her voice dropped low and her axe as she immediately unsheathes her axe. Letting her go as if he scalded himself, he stepped back as Astrid headed for the door and said before opening the door, "I asked for help if you really must know. Your nephew hasn't faced anything like Berserkers before so I suggest you stay here while I go to the main deck and help him." She turned around and left alone the old man bit his lip and headed for the heavy ornate chest behind the Captain's table.

The door closed heavily behind her, damnation, she didn't really want to disrespect him for his age. But to imply she was acting dishonorably towards them would question her integrity, as a warrior she could not allow him to sully her name. Her boots thudding heavily on the wooden deck, Helmut turned around and his eyes widened at her presence.

"It seems you were right about the Berserkers."

The Valkyrie smiled, "You ain't seen nothing yet."

"What do you mean?"

"My village fought with their tribe years ago," she smiled a little, "My father told me it was a little skirmish since the Berserkers have raided a nearby allied village, so we chased them through Hellheim's Gate. After losing many warriors to the Fog Guardians, we finally found this island and made landfall."

Helmut nods his head prodding her on, the incessant name calling and roar of fury by the Berserkers on the shore, "It was a loss, my father, the Commander of that skirmishing force told me to pull out together with my kinsmen and we sailed back to Berk. Our tails tucked behind our legs."

The Knight Commander looked shocked, "You were- you were actually defeated?"

"We were turn back?" she grinned knowingly as the shadowy fog revealed numerous black shapes coming towards them, "And you know what? They have ships back then too."

The shapes cuts through the haze of the fog, revealing to be longships of crude construct. Spikes and skulls adorned the sides and front as it obviously carried a gang of Berserkers in them. A total of ten longboats the size of schooners paddled tirelessly towards them. Their war drums booming loudly cutting through the sound of the waves, those at the shores cursed and shouted louder than ever as the charged energy of the looming battle descended on them.

"Damnation," Helmut sighed and turned to his adjutant, "Signal the fleet- we have enemies."

He turned to Astrid and saw her tightening her gloves and gripping her axe steadily on her hands, "You don't need to do this," he said softly.

"I will not be a coward Helmut."

His heart soared as he heard her utter his name with an inner strength he knew that she have, but for all his feelings and emotions, the dire hour of battle quickly dampens his mood as the approaching enemy chanted incessantly accompanied by their war drums.

**"BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD! BREAK THEIR BACKS! ATTAAAACCCKKK!"**

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Meanwhile

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Stoick shook his head, his tracker dragon was acting really odd. When they left he checked his dragon if he was feeling a bit under the weather, but the roar he gave the Chief affirmed that he was actually quite eager to pick up the trail of Astrid. They passed Amon Sul without any problems at all, in fact, he felt optimistic of the tracking, but then one day as Skullcrusher stood on the bow of the ship his head was obviously pointing towards the Southwest in the direction of the Nordic Kingdoms, then at midday he veered to the west.

Now Rumblehorns were a steady breed of dragons fabled for their awesome tracking skills. Just a whiff in the air and their quarry could not escape their eyes. But as soon as night came, his dragon became restless and began pointing towards the direction of Dragon Island. Hell of a good time to pick being all bunged up was all he thought, or maybe there was another Red Death that took up residence in Dragon Island. However, it would be unlikely since they have their own nest back at Berk, and one more thing about Rumblehorns is that their unwavering loyalty to their family. So, it was highly unlikely that a Red Death is calling out to him. Stoick really felt conflicted and he didn't want to question his dragon in anyway, but the quest to find Astrid took precedence, so he saddled another tracker dragon, this one a wild Rumblehorn that Valka trained, and what do you know they were aiming for the same direction.

Damn odd it was.

Skullcrusher wouldn't erratically change his course, but after zigzagging a day ago, he gave the nod and they headed back to Dragon Island. Isn't that just odd, his bull-headed dragon managed to nudge him. Stoick shook his head, he was really going soft, he thought wryly as the high fog wall of Hellheim's Gate greeted him like an old enemy or a friend.

It's contingent of guardian dragons now long gone at the event of the Red Death's demise. He confidently gave the command and the _Leviathan's Spear_ and the _Sea Wing_ plunged into the gloomy haze. Going at half speed, the two ships trailed each other, their way led by their dragon's sixth sense. The Chief still couldn't believe it, if his son hadn't managed to tame... umm... befriend Toothless, they would probably still trading blows with dragons up to this day. He shook at the irony of it all when a lookout pointed out to the gloom a small speck heading towards them.

"I see something!"

The sound of flapping wings and groaning wood as the two ships heave-to quickly as Skullcrusher remained stoic in his human's hands. The sound of small wings flapping finally approached and a small Terrible Terror landed smack in front of Stoick the Vast. It licked its big yellow eyes and scratched its leathery neck, the Chief turned behind him as the Vikings felt their breathes hitch on their throats.

"It's just a Terror."

Bjornn approached and saw the Terrible Terror perched in front of the Chief, incessantly scratching on its neck. "What is it doing here you reckon?"

"Probably an outcast of its herd," Lugnut approached and dropped down to the level of the small dragon, he spied something man-made and gently crooned at the flying reptile, "A fish, give me a fish! Hurry!"

"Why?"

"It's got something on its neck," excited Stoick approached and took a closer look, sure enough there was something tied to its neck. The fish was finally brought forward and was offered to the green-yellow Terror. Chirping happily at the sight of the fish, it boldly approached Lugnut as the man pats it gently on the head while crooning softly, "There now, steady now little dragon... I'll just get this off you... so... you won't... feel... itchy."

Triumphantly, he removed the ornament on the Terror and held it up towards Stoick, feeling that the persistent thing tied on its neck finally gone, the small dragon chirped one last time and flew off into the haze. The Chief of Berk turned it over his hand as Bjorn and Lugnut approached him.

It was an ornamented buckle, made with such exquisite detail that it almost felt real except for its small size.

"I wonder who-"

"Astrid."

Lugnut turned to his fellow Lieutenant and frowned, "What was that?"

"This buckle," Bjorn took it from Stoick's meaty hand and caressed it, "I could not mistake my child's own piece of armor- whenever she would take it to the armory to get repaired it would come back much nicer and sturdier than before."

"Then she cannot be far," the Chief of Berk retook the skull buckle and approached his dragon. "Forgive me for doubting you my friend, please, find Astrid... it's all up to you now."

Skullcrusher's eyes flashed in mute understanding and took a steady whiff of the scent still latched on the ornament. There was the scent of that tiny dragon, yet he could discern the smell of the human girl. Yes, the human girl was the prey, he would find her and bring joy once more to his human's child once again. He roared loudly, rousing the Vikings, and the dragons with them, their confidence and morale overflowing at this quest. Yes, he could smell her now.

Onward, to where Astrid is.

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**To be continued...**

**Author's note:**

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Read and review please.

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Cheers,

Scarabeye3000


	34. Chapter 34

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Guest 1 : For the meantime, why don't you look at my fanart for my fanfic. Its at tumblr, just look for my name ok?

Guest (Dragon Lover): Thanks for the review mate!

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Shout out to** , SMr. Freeze****, EeveeCat1248, The Viking Stranger, Poteytow, yesboss21, dracologistmaster, V0ttak, jlghighlander **for their signed reviews.

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**Disclaimer: Any characters mentioned are all under copyright. This work is purely fan-made.**

**Title: From Asgard to Midgard**

**Author: Scarabeye 3000**

**Chapter 34: _'The Key'_**

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Berserker Island  


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"Hard to port and prepare the bombards!"

"They be coming fast on the port side, try to cut us off from the fleet it looks to me-"

Helmut sneered, "Our ships are larger so ram them, then encircle the whole lot and blast them to kingdom come."

"What about boarders?"

"Prepare the swivel cannon! Take out our armour piercing arrows," the sailors marched off into order as the bosun barked all orders, "Step lively gentlemen, prepare for battle and ring battle stations!"

"BATTLE STATIONS! BATTLE STATIONS!"

The ship of the Knight Commander turned left as the rest of the fleet converged with the Berserker fleet. Drums sounding, flaming missiles launched from catapults as the bombard for the Inquisitions were loaded. A frenzied chaos descended on the fleet as the wailing and shouting came ever nearer.

"Spears at the ready! You there, tighten those lines and load the heavy shots! Man the yardarm and prepare for manuever, quick march you bloody bilge rats!"

"Sir! They're on full sails and oars, ramming speed on beat Commander!"

"Brace for impact, but prepare the Greek fire!"

Astrid said nothing, but she noticed that they used the same tubular weapon that Hiccup was developing. Albeit, much larger and heavier than his prototype that they were working on a few weeks ago. Damn it, now that Dagur was dead, who could be their new Chief and how come Drago did not seemingly attacked him? Or maybe did know about it and this new Chief was allied with the supposed 'Dragon God'? Whatever the reason, this is the first real confirmation that the Berserkers were not truly vanquished. This also led her to think that the Berserker ship were they found Dagur's body seems to be from an unknown conflict. There was probably a secession within the tribe that could have not gone in Dagur's favor. But seeing their cohesive movements of the usually feral tribe could only mean that there is a Chief among them.

Regardless, she would have to grit her teeth and prepare for the looming battle.

Their ship jerked to the left as an unseen longship rammed them on the side, within seconds grappling hooks latched on to the sides as shouts reached their ears.

"Boarders! Swords and spears at the ready!" the lieutenant of Helmut shouted, the Commander nods to the First Mate and it shouted. "Fire the bombards and prepare for boarders!"

**BOOM! **

An ear splitting sound roared across the sound as the galleon moved sideways and the cannons spew out flame and destruction. The first of the boarders fell into the sea screaming and shouting curses at them. Those that managed to hold on were dealt with spears and arrows from the waiting sailors as the crescendo of battle enveloped their senses.

"Where is the flagship!? Warn Cardinal Torquemada of what we intend to do!"

"They are already circling in defense of the flagship of the fleet, the _'Victoria'_ and _'Santa Maria'_ have formed a protective circle! We must look unto ourselves instead!" the adjutant responded and looked around them as the battle started, "We should retreat Commander!"

"No! No!" Cardinal Martin said as he ran out of the cabin, "We must get to the center of the island and retrieve the key, the Holy Father demands it."

"Cardinal" Helmut interjected, "We cannot retrieve anything with these enemies in front of us! We must rally and retreat- then force our way back so we can retrieve the key"

"We cannot go back now, there is dire need to take this key and I have told you why, will you not follow the command of the Holy Father and see this through?"

"I know where my loyalties lie Uncle," he turned away from his uncle and faced Astrid, "Are you familiar with the lay-out of this island?"

"Yes," she said confidently, "There is a river that cuts through the middle of the island, it can reach the Valley of the Black Rage and its accompanying temple."

"Temple? What temple?"

Astrid nodded, "Our medicine woman, Gothi, once told us a story of this place. In the Valley of the Black Rage, where the most deranged of the Berserkers were all led to either die in arena combat, or breathe their last finding peace in the silence. If there is a Key hidden in here, it could probably be there."

"And you can show us the way?" Helmut asked again.

"The general direction maybe," the Berkian girl shrugged her shoulders, "It said it contained an ancient temple to Odin that is now in ruins, but the arena in front is always used by the Berserkers. We could start there."

Cardinal Martin's eyes were closed as he thought about what she said, the sound of battle around them increased as the Berserkers finally began boarding, "That's all we can do for now, lead us then!"

Seeing he could not dissuade his uncle further, Helmut turned to his adjutant and to the Captain of the ship, "Free us from the boarders and signal our sister ship, they would follow us as we push through the inlet river."

"What about the flagship and the other three ships?"

"Order them to form a blockade at the river's mouth, they should outmaneuver the Berserker fleet and prevent those other ships that have not returned from even following us."

"Aye sir!"

"If they should ever follow us, we could be dealing with their longships, and their unknown number of force currently occupying the temple grounds."

"We could bombard them from the riverbanks, it won't be a problem."

"Let's hope so."

His adjutant and the Captain of the ship marched off to do their order, just then the Berserkers finally broke through the first lines of defenders and headed straight for them. Putting his shield in front of him he braced himself at the three charging Berserkers, but Astrid faced the charge, her axe hidden behind her as the three howling men shifted from him to her. Before the enemy could slice her with their menacing swords, she launched herself towards one and smashed her shoulder to her enemy's solar plexus.

The enemy gave a strangled cry as the other two stopped on their steps and turned towards their fallen comrade. As the first Berserker curled to the ground in pain, Astrid recovered and flung two throwing axes from her right hand. It flew straight towards the two Berserker and impailed one in the chest, the other one deflecting it away eliciting a pained cry from the struck enemy. The first one that she stunned still curled to the ground gasping for breath, Astrid easily finished him off with an axe on the neck, the blood of the warrior spraying as he convulsed dead on her feet.

Helmut's eyes widened, she just took down two men in a split second, and the third was actually charging at her foolishly.

"TAKE THEIR HEADS!" the crazed man shouted as he raised his gnarly sword and charged Astrid.

She remained standing as the other soldiers were occupied by their own skirmishes. Helmut made a move to intervene, but as soon as the enemy was in front of her, she blocked the sword with her axe and then kicked his knee caps sending him down to the ground. As the man thudded to the ground, the Berserker took a dagger out and made another go at her. But she easily swung her axe down and smacked him again on the neck, blood spurting everywhere and drenching her weapon.

Helmut approached her on the side and said, "Do I even need to worry about you my Lady?"

"You should worry about yourself," she said as she moved towards the stern, "We need to get the ship moving before your plan could move forward."

Astrid and Helmut strode forward wtih Cardinal Martin in the rear, their weapons on the ready as one by one they repelled the boarders.

"BREAK THEIR BACKS!" Berserkers shouted over the sound of battle as the screaming and weapons slapping into shields. The blunt sounds, combined with the sound of beating war drums adding confusion to the battle.

"These men do not know fear!" Helmut exclaimed as he struck another enemy in the head, the Berserker dropped down to the deck with blood pooling on his head, "Nor safety for their well-being!"

"I told you they're not the same soldiers that you fought against before," she said ducking as a sword swing almost sliced her head in half, "You can't fight them the same way! Just go forward and-" she swung her axe and decapitated a Berserker quickly much to Helmut's surprise, "-keep fighting or die in the axes of the enemy."

"I will not die a coward's death!"

Astrid charged toppling two Berserkers to the deck as Helmut and several other soldiers followed her. He was deeply enamored of her, she has had a difficult life, one mired in hardships and challenges, yet she was not unintelligent, just lacking in 'modern refinements' and 'courtly training' to his eyes. Plus, she would need to lay-off on the training, perhaps it was not too late to take her away. Bring her back to Zaragoza, or Madrid, teach her their ways and perhaps- just perhaps.

For now, he really couldn't mire the vision of strength and viciousness she is currently displaying in front of them. All could never argue the skill in battle she possess, and only a fool would dare truly fight her toe to toe.

The longship that the Berserkers launched against them burned with intensity as the sailors set the enemy ships on fire. As the Inquisitions army pushed away the boarders, the sailors quickly maneuvered the ship as they made for the entrance to the river estuary.

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Meanwhile

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The_ Leviathan's Spear_ and the_ Sea Wing_, easily cuts through the water as they quickly followed where Skullcrusher was leading them. They folded the sails as the winds were slow to pick up inside Hellheim's Gate, so the rowers cadence were slow and subdued as they negotiated the turns and almost hidden rock spires. Lugnut and Bjornn stood beside Stoick while Spitelout acted as the First Mate of their ship.

"Ahead slow and steady," Spitelout hissed as the creaking of the wood and gentle scraping on the hull were heard through the splash of the paddles on water.

"Relax everyone, we've been here before."

"I know, it's just unnerving though," Lugnut shook off the shivers crawling his spine, "For 300 years our fathers and forefathers tried to set foot on Dragon Island. Never knowing that it was your son at his such young age could be the key to reach that goal."

"Agreed, I couldn't believe it myself."

Stoick can merely smile, such words of adoration for his son made his heart swell. Truth be told, at first he was ashamed of the utter disappointment he felt for his son choosing to spare the Night Fury instead of slaying it. But the Gods definitely had their own plans, and once more he came to accept that after all, they were all slaves of fate. He had become so open and tolerant that he allowed the unprepared Riders to tackle such an important quest. Nevertheless, it was necessary for a Chief to weigh in on the issue and impose a solution that would benefit his people as a whole. He looked forward as his dragon, suddenly Lugnut and Bjornn called for quiet.

"SHH! Everyone pipe down..."

All Vikings stopped moving and almost stopped breathing too. Thank the Gods for this veteran crew, they went silent all around them as the only sound came from the creaking wood and the splash of the calm waves. Closing their eyes, the two Lieutenants pointed in sync on the starboard side and opened their eyes at the same time.

"War drums- starboard side," both said at the same time, "-and cannon fire-"

"How far?"

"A few leagues? I caught a rhythmic thrumming- but I thought it was just passing dragons, but now I'm sure."

Spitelout approached carrying a map, "Judging from the maps our scouts made, the whole of Hellheim's gate covers many islands. But only two are occupied, the twin island of Dragon Island where the Lavalouts dwell-"

Hiss and grunting could be heard, the Lavalouts were not a welcome tribe. They worshiped the older Gods, stuck to the old vicious ways, wilder and more cunning than the Berserkers, their only other noticeable trait is that they practiced cannibalism regularly. A custom frowned upon by more Vikings, and a practice that could probably taken in the case of very dire situations. It's better to die, than be a prisoner and wait for your inevitable end inside a boiling cauldron.

"-and there's the Berserkers Island."

"Ah, our quintessential bad side."

"Indeed," Lugnut shook his head, "They are what we are without all our restraints."

"Shall we make a visit?"

"I prefer a scout for now," Stoick turned and nods at Spitelout, "Send one wing flight, just for a look-see. Make sure they're not seen by anyone- who do we have anyway?"

Spitelout said, "I have Gustav and his veteran wing-"

"-Thor's beard, now I send our children to danger. Tell them not to engage anyone, is that clear?"

"Aye Chief!"

Spitelout turned and headed for the dragon cages, Stoick knew well the meaning of those drums. Not once did he fought off the Berserkers before, once when he was still a young man, and the other when he was still unmarried. He knew their prowess for battle, and he knew that they could be quite tenacious and their fortitudes are legendary. And so, to be truly prepared for any confrontation he would have to know what his enemy can throw at him. A sign of being young and green is brashness, patience and preparations are the hard earned lessons of a true leader.

As they sent the scouts ahead of them, they continued their slow journey through the winding rock spires.

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Inquisition Flag Ship - _'La Azotar de los Erejes'_

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Cardinal Torquemada clasped his hands together behind his back as the cannon fired continued, from the shores the lined-up primitive catapults that their enemies arrayed against them smoldered after a determined broadside from their galleons. A relatively new design from the evolution of caravels that once plied the seas of the Mediterranean, the new multi-decked ship was larger than longships and could be outfitted with a ramming point to smash any smaller vessels asunder. As soon as the first of these armed ships were made available, the Vatican deemed it prudent to asked for a 'donation' of such mighty ships to the fleet already sailing under her flag. Armed with smaller cannons called demi-culverins, a downgrade of the ancient bombards used in the early 14th century, these new weapons deemed the catapult and other archaic medieval devices obsolete in its withering firepower. With the Knight Commander and his uncle, Cardinal Martin pushing forward to the river inlet to obtain leads on the orders of Holy Father himself, he could do nothing else but obey as he was told to retain an over-watch on the river's mouth and blockade against any enemy that tried to follow them.

So far, with the ten crude longships arrayed against them, they managed to sink a total of six, with only the escort ship, _Santa Maria_, the only ship with the most noticeable damage. The rest retreated beyond the fog bank and seemed to be regrouping as every soldier under their command tended to their wound.

The wizened Cardinal shook his head, he did not come here to fight this naval battle against heathens. He was here to purge the heretics, not serve as a 'blockade' for these 'godless people'.

He loathed his station as his adjutant approached him together with the Captain of the ship.

"How goes our little... adventure?" the old Cardinal's word were measured. It would not do well to ire the Spanish Captain more.

But the heavyset man actually nodded encouragingly, "We are successful in establishing a blockade your Eminence. The enemies on the shore had scattered as the broadside from the '_Victoria' _annihilated their catapults and scattered their soldiers back to the forest."

"Ah, these heathens tire me-" Torquemada scanned the beaches and the fog wall and sighed, "-I suppose we should wait until the Knight Commander returns?"

""Your Eminence, perhaps it is safer to wait inside?" the adjutant looked left and right, "I fear that we have not seen the last of these heathens and we should expect a counter-attack any time soon. I know that silence is a blessing, yet too much silence is the prelude of the storm."

"Agreed," Cardinal Torquemada looked around to the men and turned to the Captain, "Make sure that the men have their rest, and keep your eyes peeled."

The Captain smiled and bowed, the old Cardinal walked towards the door to his cabin followed by his adjutant, a soldier followed them as far as the door and stationed himself outside, his saber rattling as he stood in attention. Far from them, on a cliff overlooking the bay, the river outlet, and the separated Inquisition Fleet. A tall slender man looked down in contempt, he giggled vilely, his alabaster skin crackled with energy. Ever since he used too much of the Immaterium's power and used that spell, his whole body still hasn't recovered, but who was he to be fickle about abusing power.

Humans, amusing indeed.

Neroth grinned from the top of the cliff as he blanketed himself with eldritch powers and vanished again into thin air.

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Ship of the Knight Commander

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Helmut cursed the heavens silently, this adventure have only managed to earn his ire further due to the recent damages on his ship and his men. The previous skirmish with the Berserker boarders killed three of his men successively, . Not to mention wounding the best of his sword fighters and officers, thankfully, the fire that started on the main deck was contained as the sailors trained a watchful eye on the riverbanks for any sign of the enemy. Curiously, the enemy seemed to have mercifully scattered across the island as the broadside from their ships effectively crippled the enemy advance. For once, Astrid actually looked impressed at what she saw and her smile, which he truly adored graced her lips once more. By the Gods, torn was he about his duty and his heart. He was actually contemplating whisking her away to Madrid or Toledo, even with her protestations, but he'll cross that bridge when he gets there. For now, the battle called his attention and he stifled the feeling of longing in his chest.

The guns from the blockading ships was silent now, their roaring broadsides that fired volley after volley amidst the endless screaming of warriors for almost half an hour and finally there was silence.

With their ship on full sails trying as much of the meager winds to catch on them, they steadily wound their way towards the river. The riverbank was a sheer rock face with a thick cover of pine trees on one side, and the other a menagerie of lowlands, sandy banks and overhanging trees. Skull totems and effigies were scattered all around, arranged to elicit fear and terror to any adversary that reached this area. The soldiers and sailors were silent, not even a pip of sound came from their mouths as the creaking of woods and the gentle slap of the waves were the only sound coming from them.

"How far to the temple?" Cardinal Martin asked irritably.

"A few more meters," Astrid said confidently, during one of the lessons her father imparted to her was map-reading, previous skirmishes from their predecessors gave an almost topography of the whole island, "Just beyond that turn we would be able to see the top of a temple that even I have not seen before."

"This is just great, you said that you'll lead us here and now you tell me you haven't even seen their temple yet?" the old man interjected angrily, his nerves shot up by their harried situation, "Will you mislead us further into this adventure?"

"Uncle please- this is not helping," Helmut turned to Astrid, "You only have general knowledge, which us do not even have an inkling off. I am grateful for your help and if our business here is concluded then I shall do everything I can to help you in exchange-

"-you can't be serious!"

"As leader of this expedition and Commander of the Knights of Aragon, I shall give her my word-"

"-stop! You overstep your boundaries Commander-"

"-to assist her in an endeavor in the future the same way she showed loyalty to her word to me-"

"-I cannot stand this! Captain, restrain the Knight Commander-"

"-furthermore, if I shall not be able to assist you that does not go against my honored vows, or if my duties shall contradict your quest, I shall RELINQUISH my status, my rank, and my name_ 'in tempore'_. And assist you as much as I can."

Cardinal Martin was livid, "You can't be serious Helmut, don't throw away who you are for a wench!"

"Enough Uncle!" Helmut shouted, "I have spoken and this shall be, this..." he looked at the old man with as much contempt as he can muster and spat out, "...adventure has already costs us too much and we have paid not only in resources, but also in blood. She does not need to involve herself in our affair, yet she does not need to. It is for a just and righteous cause I do this."

"Helmut-"

"I do not know why we even need to go to this frigid place to subdue people that have already heard the words of Christ, this is just like the Crusades of old in the Holy Land. I could not stand while this church throws away its faithful subjects to the sword of these so-called 'heathens' who have not even heard the words of God and have not even shared our faith!"

"It is the order of the Holy Father, will you not obey his wishes blindly?"

"I have followed Christ since I was a child, and have dreamed of serving under his banner. But I don't wish to serve someone that willingly sacrifice men and material to a quest that has not been made clear to me. If truly he is representing God, then why does he require us to obtain this Key? Why is a Writ given to all six ships to scour the Northlands of this Key? What truly is this Key?"

Cardinal Martin shouted, "Hold your tongue Helmut!"

"Uncle, I trust my Pope... I just want to understand!"

"IT IS THE ORDER OF THE HOLY FATHER HIMSELF! That is what you need to understand young man!" the old man exploded, the Captain, their adjutants and Astrid all stood on the sides, "How dare you imply that his words are fallible- this is heresy Helmut! Heresy to the last letter! The Pope is the physical representation of God in this world, he is the voice of the Lord and the Vicar of Christ! He is infallible!"

"Umm-" Astrid foolishly interjected.

"You!" he pointed a curled finger at her, "You have poisoned my nephew's mind with your heretical views of dragons and such, and misled him with your façade! You witch! Harlot and barbarian wench! You appear before us with obvious sorcery to confuse and mislead us, truly this is the work of Beelzebub! Listen to me you heretic, after our affairs I assure you, you wouldn't live to carry out your faulty misdirections-"

Helmut stepped forward to interject, but Astrid stopped him in mid-step as she quickly stepped up and punched the old Cardinal in the face. The old man's eyes shot up into his hairline as he spun around, knocked out before he even hit the wooden deck. Everyone looked at Helmut then at her, then back at Helmut again.

"Do not call me heretic, for I do not share your faith!" she spat on the wooden deck as she took hold of her axe and faced Helmut, "I wanted to get your attention, it has been too quiet since we started sailing and we're nearing the Temple."

The Captain of the ship and Helmut looked around finally noticing that the silence was deafening. There was no sound of a bird, nor any noise, just the rhythmic slap of the waves on the ship's bow. Rounding the bend, all eyes turned and saw a mass of Berserkers, a whole warband poised on the cliff riverbank. The bend pushed them dangerously close to the cliff as the Valkyrie and Helmut looked at each other.

"Is it just me or are they preparing to jump from the cliff?"

Berserkers began shouting and hollering as they sighted the ship, some even started jumping and waving their weapons in the air.

Astrid sighed, "Preparing to jump the ship? Bloody likely they would."

Helmut turned to the Captain and the man nodded knowingly, he ordered that the Cardinal be sent to the cabin for his own protection and the soldiers to prepare boarding. He shook his head in disbelief, these kinds of enemy, they were not used to fighting the likes of them. On the contrary, to fight an enemy that is unrelenting as these madmen seemed like a scourge on someone's body. After continues infliction of pain, the suffering seemed to go on forever, the same way they were feeling right now.

"When will it end?" he whispered.

"It sure won't end soon."

Berserkers came jumping, hollering and charging from the cliff, some enemies hanging to the yardarm ropes, others completely missing the ship and kept tumbling down to the waters. Others smashed their bodies on the rocks, while others splattered into the wooden deck. Those lucky enough held on to ropes from the mast and began jumping down on the deck as the soldiers prepared for battle.

"KILL! MAIM! BURN!"

"A rowdy lot these Berserkers seem to be," Helmut observed as he drew his sword and began approaching the leaping enemy.

Astrid stood beside him, her axe already on her shoulder, "Best of luck Knight Commander," the ship rounded the bend as the temple came into sight. A large clearing where a single stone pyramid stood in the middle and a stone arena could be seen in front of it. From the small docking area, their ship inched forward as they reached their destination. Their escort ship also followed in their languid pace and is once more repelling Berserkers, they were all being besieged by the enemy who kept a relentless assault of jumping from the cliff and hitting the wooden deck. Regardless of their survival rate, they fell on the two ships like a rabid army of humans. With them being driven from the beaches, they threw spears, arrows and hurled missile weapons to the ships. Flaming clay pots rained down on them as the Berserkers arrayed catapults against them. A rising crescendo of shouting and cursing was coursing through the forest as the enemy swarmed the riverbanks.

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Meanwhile at _La Azotar de los Erejes_

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The Captain looked at the fog wall of Hellheim's Gate and waited, a while ago they saw one longship weaving in and out of the fog bank as it seemed to be scouting the area around them. They fired a single salvo and the wayward ship retreated with a broken main mast back into the safety of the fog bank.

"These rustics are so... so inept."

The First mate shook his head in disbelief, "Aye Captain."

"Nearly takes the honor of the battle," the Captain laughed, "Nearly."

Laughing both at their enemies, the lookout suddenly called out and said, "Something's going on! Port side! Port side!"

They turned to the left and saw that the fog banks began emitting sparks of lightning, explosions could be audibly heard as the sound of shouts and screaming men cuts through the din. Silence descended as all eyes were peeled to the fog bank, shapes were stirring on the fog bank as they saw the snarling prow of every longship of the Berserkers that they defeated came heading towards them. The First Mate's eyes widened and quickly jumped into action, he reached the bell of the ship and began ringing it with alarm.

"GENERAL QUARTERS!"

Sailors leapt quickly to their posts as the enemy ships made a bee-line towards them, they managed to scrounge up two more additional ships from their melee, but something peculiar and different made them all cock their heads. There was no one on the bow, there were no sailors or Berserkers scurrying about on the decks, most of the ships were burning intensely as they all huddled about and asked questions on their head.

_"Where did they go?"_

Without any considerable wind the burning longships noticeably picked up speed and began hurtling towards them, their bows raised, water sloshing to the sides as if being pushed by some invisible force. Loading cannons and missile weapons they fired a volley and smashed the bows of some longships. Curiously, none of the ships slowed their advance as the Captain turned to his men and shouted, "Brace yourselves!"

The three Galleons in front of the flagship lurched upwards as the enemy smashed on the sides of the ship and sent them on the wooden decks.

Almost every soldier toppled over and rolled on the deck, the force of the ship to ship collision, shot their balance through the roof. Screaming sailors tumbled down from the masts and others went overboard as the Galleons and longships jostled about on the calm sea. The sailors quickly tried to get back on their feet, arming themselves to the teeth, they lined up on the sides of the ships and peered down into the burning enemy ships. Through the haze of the smoke they saw corpses lying on the enemy ships, some torn asunder in half, others burned by an unknown force, a decapitated head even rolled down from a barrel as the enemy's broken bodies scattered across the deck.

"They're all dead!"

"Huh?" the Captain shouted as he steadily got on his feet, "What did you say?"

The First Mate ran to the side and peered down below, "They're all below, and they're... dead!"

It took a moment to sink in, but at once the sailors cheered. Their enemy vanquished, they were safe and the monotony of the blockade was about to return. But the lookout suddenly cried, "ON THE WATER! THERE!"

Every eyes turned to the fog wall and they saw a figure heading towards them. In fact, he was walking towards them on top of the water.

_"Madre de Dios!" _the Captain exclaimed as he peered through his spyglass, "Call his Eminence. Now!"

Cardinal Tomas Torquemada hurriedly went to the top deck and was given the spyglass, he quickly peered through it and focused on the curious figure walking on water and heading towards them.

The man was tall, his hair was quite unruly and he carried a large ornate staff that visibly crackled with energy. He was gathering energy in his left hand and it pulsed uncontrollably, Cardinal Torquemada spied the numerous runes adorning his armor and he saw the man spoke through the spyglass. He was moving his lips from probably a mile away, yet his voice pierced his ears like an ethereal voice speaking behind him.

_"Greetings human lapdog, it is with great regret that I inform you of your impending destruction- behold your destruction!"_

A dark orb enlarged above him as Cardinal Torquemada almost screamed at the Captain, "Volley that demon!"

Cannons began pointing to the enemy as Neroth caused the winds to sway the ships uncontrollably. He also delved into their mind and began speaking directly to them breaking their concentration and their spirit. _"I have seen your minds, and it holds oblivion!"_

"The demon is invading our minds!" the men exclaimed.

"He is reliving us our hell!" anguished voices cried out, "Make it stop!"

"Stop! STOP! For the love of God STOP!"

The hallowed cries and pained screams pierced through the blocking ships as they all suffered mental torment in the hands of the Sorcerer. They were so deep in their suffering that they didn't notice the dark orb, now as large as a Galleon, hurtling towards them.

Darkness filled their eyes as the ships were pushed aside and the gigantic orb exploded around them. Neroth cackled madly as the explosion engulfed every ship in the bay, even the beach, the waters around them were all engulfed. A muffled sound like a loud sucking noise could be heard as the Dark Elf continued his advance. Everything went silent as the explosion consumed them, the loud boom echoing around the island as no flame burned yet destroyed everything in its path, everything consumed by the void.

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Meanwhile

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Astrid, Helmut and a handful of their elite soldiers pushed through the horde of the Berserkers as the enemy assaulted the two ships now docked at the riverside overlooking the temple. Every group of enemy was scattered with cannon fire as the Knight Commander charged with a phalanx of heavily armored Spanish Knights. Just like their tactics with the Berbers, they weathered the attack and hunkered down as the cannon fire whizzed over them. Astrid grinned, she had to give it to them, their bravery is something else.

In their midst, the Cardinal stood safe in the middle, the few Berserkers that manage to survive the volley would charge them and would be easily disposed of by their swords. With this tactic they managed to reach the temple and began mounting its steps. The enemy still hasn't given up about the attack and followed them relentlessly, disregarding their safety for the chance to kill the enemy.

The temple, a trapezoid kind of pyramid with a flat top housed a sheltered sanctuary where a large stone carving of the great God Odin stood, just beneath the statue is a black square stone with numerous carved symbols. As they reached the top of the temple, all stopped as they found someone kneeling in front of the edifice. He had a carved staff lying inert on the ground while a black blade hung on his side, he was muttering something under his breath as Astrid came into view and her face noticeably took a mask of rage.

"Ah, greetings once more," they all gasped except Astrid as the stranger turned towards them and all saw his face, "Fancy seeing you again little girl."

His four eyes glowed with eldritch energy, the same way she remembered him before he cursed himself. She gritted her teeth as Helmut noticed the agitation that the young woman was under.

"Are you ok?"

"Careful," she breathed, there was something about her voice that told him to take caution, "He was the sorcerer who cursed me that sent me to your ship."

He nodded knowingly, someone that actually made Astrid cautious was actually someone that he also agreed to consider dangerous. He stepped back, but Neroth approached casually, "Now my friends, we are in a quandary-" there was an audible sound of grinding stones and from above them a trapdoor opened revealing a large ornate key, "-behold the key to Ragnarok."

"Helmut," Cardinal Martin whispered urgently, "That's the one we need!"

"GET DOWN!" Astrid shouted too late as Neroth raised his staff to the air and slammed it to the ground. Everyone was blown away to the sides as the energy coursed through their bodies. Helmut's eyes slowly darkened, but before his consciousness left him he saw the mysterious sorcerer pick up Astrid from her belt and stepped away outside still cackling madly.

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**To be continued...**

**Author's note:**

All right! Read and review then!

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Thank you everyone,

Scarabeye3000


	35. Chapter 35

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Guest 1 : Sorry mate, but what I wrote is correct. I have a native Viking translator (he's one of my reviewers) and he agreed with me. I won't change _'Berthadottir' _to_ 'Berthadaughter'. _Plus, I don't want a debate, but I put Jotunheim as the general home of all giants and considered Nifleheim as just part of that realm.

Guest (Dragon Lover): Where's the fun in that right? I just wanted to twist a few stomachs here and there, somehow it kind of worked. I really don't want to torture you guys, I swear! But life is good with a little excitement.

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Shout out to my signed reviews! You know who you are: **SMr. Freeze, Eeveecat1248, The Viking Stranger, dracologistmaster, yesboss21, jlghighlander, Poteytow**

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**Disclaimer: Any characters mentioned are all under copyright. This work is purely fan-made.**

**Title: From Asgard to Midgard**

**Author: Scarabeye3000**

**Chapter 35: **_**'Drums of War**_**_'_**

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Berserker Island

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The longships '_Leviathan's Spear' _and the_ 'Sea Wing' _quickly made its way through the river's mouth leading to the interior of the island. The ominous remains of the sea battle lingered in their minds as its destruction left no obvious victors, merely ghost of those who lost their lives. The Berserkers, normally lingered on the high bluffs of their island to provide lookout, but to see not a soul lingering in their midst means they have been pulled by something happening inland.

"I don't like this Chief," Spitelout shook his head as he looked around at the deserted beach.

"Neither do I," Stoick looks on the horizon and headed for the bow, he began removing the Rumblehorn's ropes and said, "We should go ahead on dragon back, anchor the two ships together and wait here."

"Aye Chief!"

Gustav approached and clapped his palm on his chest, "The Riders are ready for your command Chief."

"Follow my flight path, but keep your eyes open," Stoick quickly mounted his dragon as it roared loudly, "Let's go Skullcrusher!"

Bjornn and Lugnut, both armored and armed with their weapons, raised familiar O-rings made of steel as the Chief's dragon flew up high into the sky, bearing them aloft on each claw. Gustav and his Dragon wing also followed behind as the two Lieutenants opened their eyes and ears amidst the whistle of the wind in front of them. Circling around the beaches and the nearby forest Astrid's father looked up and shouted, "There's not a soul here!"

"Aye! They could be at the Temple!"

Stoick nodded and turned to Gustav, making a hand gesture signaling for the young man to follow him. The Wing Leader nods to indicated he understood the order. They were flying high and the foggy environment hid them from prying eyes. Not that there were prying eyes, there was just no one to spot anyway, no wayward Berserker was walking on the paths, and there was no sign of movement on the enemy's part anyway. They went in circles, from the scene of the sea battle, to the bombarded beach, to the rudimentary dwelling they found on the other side of the island. Now, this only leaves them the in the middle of the island, even when they were still young, they were filled with the stories of the terrible arena that the Berserkers's use for ritual and for sport.

They hovered just above the arena where they can easily utilize a sweeping overview of the whole area.

As their eyes looked around, they saw a large group of Berserkers converging on the temple grounds. Immediately urging his dragon to sally forth, Skullcrusher swooped down on the arena grounds with Gustav and his dragon wing not far behind. They could see two Galleons anchored near the riverbanks, but already numerous Berserkers were storming the sides and the sailors are all locked into vicious melee. Already engaged, more enemies poured out of the edge of the forest as the sound of battle and the shouts of fighting reached their ears.

"Gustav, rain death on them!" Stoick exclaimed as Fanghook roared behind them and dive-bombed their enemy. The Chief turned to his two Lieutenants, they were heading for the arena, "Clearly these Berserkers have no love for these _'Imperials'_. We must aid them, for we might get information regarding Astrid."

"Understood," a curt nod and both men drew their weapons, ready to be released by the flying dragon.

With Gustav taking care of the two ships and trying to relieve the pressure of the Berserkers unrelenting attacks. Stoick circled the arena and saw six men dressed in matching armor sets, judging from their armor they came from Europa or, at least as far as the Mediterranean. Plus, they were cleaner than the feral men of this island tribe and they kept a disciplined circle of fighting back to back against their enemy. But with the sheer number of opponents, it was only a matter of time before they would be overwhelmed. Swiftly, the Rumblehorn dived for the ground, as the ground neared he suddenly leveled his flight, did a quick barrel roll and both Lieutenants spun as they were flung away from the dragon. A dynamic maneuver only done by the most skillful of Viking warriors, the two Lieutenants arced towards the charging Berserkers and smacked against their enemies.

Weapons and limbs flew away as Lugnut tackled three men at once and sent them scrambling to the ground. Bjorn landed on two warriors near him, his large axe already bathed with blood. They were spinning around the arena, a storm of weapon killing every enemy within their killzone, a coordinated dance of death earned through experience and a bond attained by only standing side by side in battle.

"You were faster Lugnut three years ago Lugnut."

"Age just caught up to me last week," the tall reedy Viking grinned madly, "Don't worry, I won't tell the boys you were slowing me down."

Bjorn laughed at the jibe and swung his axe towards two enemies, it broke one of the weapons and threw the other one out of balance, "Touche then! Did you bring a shield?"

"Crap... I forgot-"

Astrid's father sighed, "-you absolute idiot."

A few more spins and wayward limbs as they mounted the arena and steadily made their way towards the fighting Knights.

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Helmut swung his sword and slashed a Berserkers neck, as he slashed his sword down, he quickly changed direction and swiped it into a large arc in front of him clipping two more on the neck and lessening the many enemies beginning to encircle them. His head still hurts, but the memory of the mysterious man that incapacitated them all still lingered on his mind, he could not forget the feeling of the concussive wave that smacked into everyone of them. As he came back to consciousness at the top of the temple, he quickly surmised that the Key was taken including Astrid since his last vision before unconsciousness took him was her being carried off by the enemy. His uncle, the Cardinal Martin, whom they managed to drag away with them lay prone in their middle. He rallied his Knights and fought a running battle against the numerous Berserkers storming the temple grounds. One or two enemies challenged them from every direction, but when they reached the arena, it became too untenable due to the sheer number of enemies that they had no choice but to seek higher ground to defend themselves more effectively. The cannons of the two Galleons were silenced as the ships also came under attack from crude paddle boats and those truly determined enemies that dared to wade the waist deep waters of the river.

As the situation on the temple deteriorated, the two ship Captains decided to try and send help in the form of a column of armored knights, but the deep waters prevented them from reaching the shores effectively. The first attempt was cut down by enemy ranged weapons, while the second attempt was overwhelmed by enemy numbers. The last group didn't make it out of the ships as the Berserkers began attacking the ships themselves and the soldiers and sailors had no choice but to abandon the demi-culverins and fight in melee.

With no fire support, Helmut prayed for any miracle that would save them from this predicament. His Knights were stalwart, veterans of Campaigns against the Turks and the Berbers, but their strength is not boundless, already they were beginning to slow in their attacks. The wave after wave of enemies took its toll on their bodies as their own armor also weighed down on their bodies. He swung his sword again and met flesh and leather armor, both gave way as the enemy he sliced plopped down in front of him, but a wayward swing felled one of his knights fighting on his side and their formation was now less of a man. Swinging again to the left, Helmut suddenly turned as a cleaner savage blocked his sword and the same bluish eyes that he became familiar with met his own and actually stunned him into inaction.

"Quie- quien sore?" , _"Who are you?"_

The savage stopped for a moment and said in halting Spanish, "Yo- yo soy Bjorn Hofferson, estamos aqui para ayudar." _"I am Bjorn Hofferson, we are here to help."_

"A la Batalla!" The Commander rallied his men as another savage, Lugnut broke through them and swung his sword in a wide arc in front of them covering them from the back. All Berserkers either smacked or clipped by his sword swing fell at once, their blood leaking from them in gushes.. Helmut seeing their chance to break away, turned to his men and exclaimed, "Vamos caballeros! Con rapido a los barcos" , _"Let's go Knights, quickly to the ships!"_

It was all a blur of swords, axes, shields and explosions as fired rained all around them. Helmut couldn't believe his eyes, there were lizards- or rather real Dragons being ridden by these Vikings and they're raining fire from the skies. It both scared and relieved him of his worries, they would survive this after all. As they neared the banks the previous rabid enemy attacks seemed to abate as the fighting died down for a moment, as they half-carried, half-dragged their wounded comrade and his uncle until they finally reached the river banks where they piled everyone inside and pushed off from the banks. The two savages remained on the edge of the river banks as a blanket of flame was breathed by the dragons that are currently circling them. Paddling furiously and without looking back, they could still hear the shouting and clashing of blades as the two men who assisted them carried on in the fighting.

The Captain of the ship, although bloodied and wounded peered on the side and waved enthusiastically. They managed to drive off the Berserkers who besieged them with the help of the dragons as they all quickly cleared the deck and waited for word from the Knight Commander. Fearing the worst that they would be overwhelmed without their fire support, his heart leaps as he found Commander Helmut shouting at him in rapid Spanish.

"FUEGO! FUEGO CON RAPIDO EN DE LAS ORILLAS DEL RIO!" , _"Fire! Fire quickly on the river banks!"_

The sailors exploded into action as the alarme bell sounded, "Hacer listo los Canones!" , _"Ready the cannons!"_

One by one the culverins were loaded with gun powder, then the iron balls, then pushed tightly by the plunger, pushing them out of their gun ports and their wicks primed to fire.

"Apuntar!" , _"Aim!"_

Helmut and his ragged Knights reached the safety of the ship as the Captain shouted.

"FUEGO!" , _"Fire!"_

The blast defeaned them and their ears rang, but the shouting and screaming of the enemy renewed their strength. One by one they made their way up to the ship as they lashed the wounded Knight and Cardinal Martin to ropes and easily hauled them up. From the shore, they saw five dragons raining fire and the two Vikings that were left behind picked up by a really large man on top of a dragon. The Commander turned to the Captain of the ship and said.

"Prisa y despliegan toda la lona! Debemos huir!" , _"Quickly unfurl all canvas! We must flee!"_

Grabbing the wheel, the Captain turned it back where they came from as the attack from the Berserkers finally abated. With renewed haste, their ship including their escort shoved forth and made their way back to open sea. They were not out of danger yet though, the sharp curve where the Berserkers jumped from the cliff to get to them was again converged on by the enemy.

"Listo los canones!" , _"Ready the cannons!"_

"Apologias comandante, está fuera del rango" ,_ "Sorry Commander, they're out of range."_

"Punyeta," Helmut cursed, "Arqueros! Listos los arqueros!" , _"Archers! Ready the archers!"_

Crossbows were passed around, but not quickly enough. Arrows began raining down on them as the already thinned Berserkers employed the use of archers too. Scrambling for cover, Helmut and the other Knights tried to provide cover from the continued hail of arrows. Nearing the corner, they were again besieged by the enemy by jumping from the cliff again and toppling over to the mast or sometimes landing on the wooden deck itself.

"Fuego de vuelta." , _"Return fire."_

"Comandante, que son incesantes," ,_ "Commander they are endless."_

Helmut turned to his lieutenant and said, "Coraje, coraje mi amigo." ,_ "Courage, courage my friend."_

As they passed the corner, the attacks finally stopped as the wide river opened and no amount of attacks could reach them. He must hand it to them, when these Berserkers have a chance of attacking, then they really attack without any reservations. Regardless of their loss, and no small amount of bravery, or possibly idiocy. Whatever the case, they managed to survive this battle at the loss of Astrid and the supposed 'Key' that they were supposed to obtain. Their objective is clear though, retrieve the key and possibly Astrid, but for now he would need to review the encounter that happened as they sailed for the open sea. Cardinal Torquemada would be furious to learn that they lost the key, but at least they would be safe with the rest of the fleet with them.

Large wings flapped overhead as the two Vikings that helped them landed on the ship's stern as the surprised soldiers drew their swords for a confrontation.

"Alto! Envainar sus espadas." , _"Stop! Sheathe your swords."_

Helmut walked towards the stern and bowed his head a bit, a signal to all warriors that all was well. The Viking whose eyes closely resembled Astrid's even her last name spoke slowly in Spanish, "Estoy buscando una joven, Astrid su nombre." , _"I'm looking for a young woman, her name is Astrid." _

"Cual es su relacion con ella?" ,_ "What is your relation to her?"_

"Ella es mi hija," Bjorn said as Helmut sighed sadly, "She's my daughter."

"I- I apologize, but in the fighting she was lost to us."

Astrid's father felt faint, "Did she fell in battle?"

"No, no- I don't think anyone could best her not even me," at this Bjorn's eyes remained hopeful, "But there was this sorcerer that looked absolutely peculiar and- in fact, his whole face unsettled us all."

"What did he look like?"

"White alabaster skin, an incredible amount of hair braided tightly, large staff of unholy energies coursing through it- and pointed ears."

Bjorn nodded and takes out a cylindrical tube from his saddle bag, lighting it, he pointed it to the sky and it exploded with the sound of a cannon blast. Immediately, five dragons came swooping down from the sky and encircled the two ships. The men panicked as they scrambled for their crossbows as the others grabbed spears and shields. Suddenly, the largest of the dragons landed at the stern of Helmut's ship and a giant man got down from his saddle and walked over to him, the Captain and the other Knights scrambled away as Helmut looked up to the Chief of the Hairy Hooligans. The warriors of the Vatican tensed, but the three Vikings didn't faze too easily. Calmly, he approached the Knight Commander as Bjorn translated.

"This is the Chief of our tribe, his name is Stoick the Vast, Warlord of all the Barbaric Archipelago."

The large man looked sharply at Bjorn and said in their native tongue, _"Warlord of the Barbaric Archipelago?"_

Bjornn replied softly, _"It sounds much more powerful if you put it that way."_

The Chief of Berk shook his head and just nods his head in defeat, the stories about him they always embellish. "Tell us more of how you encountered Astrid."

"My brethren and I are on a quest that took us to the Northern Seas, your homeland, on the middle of our trip to reach the ends of the territory of the Kalmar Union-"

Stoick and his Lieutenants scoffed, "The Imperialist Johan huh-"

"-yes, that's the one," Helmut continued, "We obtained permission to continue our quest for our Holy Father, before we leave for Rost there was a light that appeared before us, we were confused and of course we were unsure how to react. But when the light finally faded, she magically appeared in front of us."

Helmut became animated as he talked about her, as Stoick and Bjornn listened intently, "Initially, she was hostile towards us, but she offered her help in the end as the map we showed her that we would go to the island of the Berserkers. She gave us her word that she would assist us, in exchange that we would bring her home. I agreed to her help and we fought our way through the Berserkers.

"Were you not afraid?"

The Commander shook his head, "We have six ships of the line with us, we agreed that only two ships would push inland and towards their temple, but as you can see we were almost overwhelmed. Hopefully, Cardinal Torquemada and the rest of the fleet retained the blockade on the mouth of the river."

"What blockade?" Bjornn asked.

"There were four ships blocking the river's mouth to prevent any longships from pursuing, I'm pretty sure they held up much better than us."

Lugnut and Bjorn looked at each other as Stoick cleared his throat and said, "We passed by the mouth of the river, we found traces of a great battle and saw numerous mast jutting out of the water. It seems you are all that is left of the fleet, I'm sorry for the loss."

Helmut shook his head in disbelief, he was about to turn to the Captain when the lookout shouted.

"Forward! Captain! Forward!"

All eyes turned forward as they saw the wreckage of the four galleons, their mast unmistakable and the numierous floating bodies of their countrymen washed on the sides, some floating in the sea, while numerous debris and wreckage littered the river's mouth. Their hearts fell as they saw the mast of the flagship jutting out of the water with no sign of survivors anywhere.

"This is impossible- how-" Helmut was gripped with despair, how in the world can four ships sink side by side and go down with all hands and no survivors.

"You have fought someone that has come out of myths, a sorcerer powerful enough to sink ships at the wave of his fingers," Bjornn approached him and puts a hand on his shoulder, "My daughter fought him and barely survived the encounter, you were lucky that you went to the interior of the island."

The vision of their encounter with Neroth floods his mind and he gasped in realization, "Astrid knew him- he greeted her like they saw each other before. She was cautious of him so much, I've never seen her like that in the short time we were with her."

"We must return to the island, Hiccup would be furious."

_'Hiccup- Astrid said that name in passing,'_ Helmut thought as he contemplated what to do, "I have pledged to assist Astrid after she honored her word to us. But with her in harm's way, I have to save her in anyway I can."

"Are you sure?" Stoick asked him.

Helmut squared his jaw and looked up to the larger man, "Of course, honor demands it."

"We shall sail for Berk, lick our wounds and bring the fight to them," the Chief turned to Bjornn and nods his head, "Signal the longships we return to Berk."

Bringing out the tubular signal device, the Lieutenant quickly lights it up and points to the sky. Instead of the white blast smoke, it shot out green and red balls of flame that lingered for a few seconds in the sky. From the fog wall a prow of a ship pierced through followed by a second one right behind it, dragons also flew out of cover as they converged with the two Inquisition ships. For now, all ships and dragons head for Berk.

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Berk

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Rael looked at the highest point of Berk as he communed with the spirits of Midgard, there was a great disturbance that occurred twice within the hour and it brought renewed concern to the White Hands. Master Kaldr suspended all outside operations as the Warrior's Three also watched them closely, but the sudden surge of power caught their attention and Rael was tasked to see what is happening. So far though, a lingering trace of usage only remained and no other usage was felt, regardless, he tried to ascertain what spell was used and he's been unsuccessful as of late. On the lookout he was joined by Varhey and Gobber who was supervising the installment of the large cannon they were constructing, based on their initial designs, it would be much sturdier than all their known prototypes, and combined with the height of the mountain it could probably reach the horizons of Berk.

"What did you sense Rael?" Varhey said as he measured the placement of the cannon, "Was it Neroth?"

"It is definitely Neroth, he has a certain way to utilize the Immaterium's power that is both distinct and incomparable."

The other member of the White Hand grinned, "Hmm, whatever happens, if the hour comes we would assist you."

"I'm hoping that our Midgardian allies hadn't encountered him though."

"I also hope too my friend.

"And I'm hoping that we get to fight him instead."

"I'm counting on it," sharing a light moment together, a lookout suddenly shouted, "SHIPS! It's the Chief! He's back!"

Gobber and Varhey smiled as Rael opened a portal towards the docks, both stepped through and was welcomed by the other Riders of Berk. A crowd had already gathered at the docks, excited at the return of their Chief with good news about Astrid. They could see the Chief was on the wheel of the flagship followed by two ships of unknown origin. It flew flags similar to the crosses of the English crown though, but it was rare for the Anglos to come to their seas.

As the four ships heave-to on the docks, the other two ships were tied to the other side and the Inquisitorial Knights disembarked.

Gobber sidled up to the Chief and asked, "I suppose judging from your sour explosion that not everything went well?"

"We were able to follow on her trail, but those blasted elves got her first," Stoick stopped and asked, "Where's Hiccup?"

"In the arena," Gobber shook his head, "Letting off some steam."

The Chief signaled for Helmut and his men to follow. The Inquisitorial Knights looked in awe at the primitive buildings, built to withstand the snow and chilling wind that are a natural occurrence to places in the North. What astounded more was the numerous dragons flying all over the place, and now that his eyes could truly see how majestic these dragons truly are, he was considering bringing some of them back to him if it would be permitted. They walked towards a large circular arena where other Vikings milled about.

"I must say I am surprised with your small town Chief," Helmut nodded approvingly, "You have running water accesible, I can also see you have drainage, and your houses are rustic in manufacturer yet sturdy and very useful in your weather conditions, and you have roads that are quite uncommon for settlements this far North."

"Indeed, it was all through my son that we have been able to obtain such necessity for our lives, and you shall meet him."

As they entered the arena, the sounds of blades clashing and of battle reached their ears. Walking inside they saw a young man assaulting four men that seemed to be made of shadows all at once, he had a complex peg-leg that flexed like a real one as he kept all four of them at bay. Carrying two swords and using them like an extension of his hands, they stopped walking to watch. Helmut drew his full height and looked at the one they call Hiccup, the man whose name was uttered by Astrid just once yet he knew held more closely than she showed him.

From above, there were observers that had the same complexion as the sorcerer that they fought on the Berserker Island. Their supposed leader approached the side and called out.

"Will you attempt it now?"

Hiccup twirled his sword and raised one above his head and the other in front of him, they watched as he charged without fear. The first enemy raised its sword when he was in striking distance, yet the Heir of Berk was faster, he blocked the sword slash with his right sword and slashed the arms and the neck of his enemy cleanly with his left one. Twirling to the left, he stretched his two hands outward and clipped a second one in the arm and with a following slash caught another one on the side of the head. Both enemy toppled down and melted to the ground.

"What- what was that?" Helmut asked astonished.

"It is a practicing shadow, it simulates the appearance and feel of a real enemy, yet it only vanishes as you seem to 'kill' it with your weapon."

The 3rd and 4th enemy charged at the same time, Hiccup raised his two weapons again mimicked their movements. With their sword slash blocked, the Heir stepped forward and utilizing his other weapon sliced the two enemies consecutively as he stepped in between them. The Knights all gaped in surprise, he was too fast, his technique was so aggressive and left no room for error that he was wide open for many times. But due to his aggressiveness at the battle, it would put you off to capitalize on his errors, on the contrary, it would put you on a precarious position should you try and take it.

As the other shadows vanished into thin air, Hiccup turned to Stoick and to Helmut as he sheathed his swords and approached them steadily. From behind, a large black dragon leaps behind him and silently followed him. His green eyes held them as his masked hid half of his face. Finally as he stood in front of the Chief he said, "I take it you failed father?"

"Not really, she was found by these men," he gestured to Helmut and the others and said, "However, your nefarious sorcerer Neroth came and took her away."

Angrily he took off his mask and Helmut finally saw Hiccup's face for the first time. It was a rugged face of a man who had faced death over and over again, his eyes were hard and cold, and anger could be seen contorting his brows further.

"This has gone far enough father, the White Hands will attack them, with or without the help of Berk."

"Son, let us discuss this first before you jump to decisions."

"The death of Mentor Portio weigh heavily upon us, we cannot have their survival remain in our conscience for long."

"I know son, I know," the Chief said trying to pacify his son, "But we must not be hasty."

"We are not hasty," Master Kaldr appeared as he bends the shadows and appeared near them, "Already we have the necessary attack patterns and only require refreshments of our martial discipline to eliminate any unforeseen mistakes."

"What is your plan anyway?"

"We would assault the Citadel with the White Hands and the riders would provide the necessary support we would need."

"What about Astrid then?" Stoick asked, hoping to delay them further, "What if she dies in your attempt?"

"If they dare harm her," Hiccup's brow furrowed, "We will burn them to the ground."

Helmut felt uncomfortable, apparently he could understand why Astrid would be fond of such a man. His skill, his words, even the manner he spoke it belied his years. It would be dangerous to cross him, and even his enemies seemed to realize it, for they would seem to use Astrid as a hostage to ensure their safety. Hiccup then turned to Helmut and said, "Como te llamas?" , _"Who are you?"_

His fluent Spanish also made him stop, if he would shed his green armor and dressed as a gentleman in Madrid, he would not have spotted the difference. Plus, the way he spoke was the way Astrid talked with them. This proves another point he might have missed, this young man was intelligent despite his barbaric origins.

"I am Helmut de la Valle, Knight Commander of the Vatican."

Hiccup approached and drew a knife, embellished with runes and sheathed in a leather scabbard full of runes and symbols unknown to Helmut. He offered it to him and smiled, "My thanks for your services to Astrid, take this knife I have made and have my gratitude."

Taking the knife and his hand, the Knight Commander smiled as the others looked on.

_"A politician and an artisan too it seems."_

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**To be continued...**

**Author's note:**

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Calm down HiccStrid shippers! Calm down! Jeez!

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Cheers,

Scarabeye3000


	36. Chapter 36

Guest 1 : Why thank you! ;) ;)

Guest 2 : If you can't understand that his dual-personality is suppose to confuse and misdirect, then I'm sorry if it pains you to have read my story, but thank you for your review and the time it took you to read it. Your concern is duly noted and I shall consider it.

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Shout out to** , SMr. Freeze****, EeveeCat1248, The Viking Stranger,CodeMusica, dracologistmaster, jlghighlander, yesboss21, **for their signed reviews.

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**Disclaimer: Any characters mentioned are all under copyright. This work is purely fan-made.**

**Title: From Asgard to Midgard**

**Author: Scarabeye 3000**

**Chapter 36: _'Bringing down the Walls'_**

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Berk  


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The Chief of Berk remained silent as he looked at the occupants of the large table on the Mead Hall. Maps were scattered left and right as a holographic image, at least that was what the White Hands called it, was projected over them. They were consolidating their resources that they could utilize, especially those factions that have pledged themselves to the cause of Berk. Of course, being the Heir and Savior of Berk, the whole village stands behind Hiccup, those few that voiced differing opinions were given the chance to clear out of the meeting and given the guarantee that they would not be judged as less of a person. The White Hands, with the bad blood of Portio's death, also pledged their expertise. Hogun, Fandral and Volstagg, although non-committal at first, were finally persuaded given the chance to meet Neroth and Cythrax in battle once more.

The Uglithugs new Chieftain Grug, although still consolidating his power, promised his full support in whatever the Berkians would ask of them. Wisely considering their larger population and manpower, Hiccup promised by dragon mail, that if all goes well with the assault, the Citadel and its whole island shall be given to the Uglithugs as their own protectorate and oversee whatever they see it fit. Camicazi who managed to train her own dragon, quietly slipped away from Berk carrying a crystallized message from Hiccup saying that if they wish to assist in the assault, it would be to act as a vanguard and hold a blockade with the Uglithugs around the whole island while the Berkians, the White Hands and the Warrior's Three are assaulting the Citadel. It would be definitely bloody, but the show of force that they have could hopefully break their enemies morale, if they're being optimistic that is. The Inquisition though did not get away unscathed, with the loss of four ships and their noses thumped and bloodied, the Knights wanted revenge for their comrades who were killed by the mysterious sorcerer. Their religion tolerated no such thing, and it brings him worry that they are fervently intolerant of things such as Gods and Magic.

In any case, their ships with the bombards, or_ 'cannones'_ in their language would prove much useful in the beginning of the siege.

What his problem now is that his son would definitely be in the thick of it, they were arguing which plan would suit them best. They were pushing to bombard the citadel to kingdom come then a frontal assault on the gates of the walled structure. They also considered covert insertion by dragons, utilizing the White Hands and the Warrior's Three to open the gates while the army charged inside. There was much to consider and everyone wanted to get inside quickly, but if they don't plan this perfectly, they'll be just like water splashing on rock.

Not really cracking it open, just making it immensely wet. Even that didn't sound right!

The Chief shook his head, maybe he was overthinking things, but the assault weighed heavily on his mind. He turned back to the meeting as Hiccup stood up and pointed to a large part on the holographic image.

"As part of reconnaissance, we have determined that the Coalition's standing force has reached 500 strong on the island," he gestured in the air and the whole island appeared before them. Details and colors can be seen as if your looking down on it from above, several dots converged on each other while some scattered around the whole island, "As you can see we have pinpointed the numerous converging area of the enemy by-"

"Wait- How is this possible?"

"We have our ways father," Hiccup said reassuringly, "As I was saying, we have pinpointed their movements and have agreed on a battle plan to exploit this vulnerability."

"By utilizing dragons, we would insert from above as a commando force that would initiate confusion on the enemy's defenses, but of course, our enemy would have no doubt prepared counter-measures against such an assault."

Rafiq rubbed his chin in contemplation, "I stand that we just infiltrate our small group and wreck havoc as the main army made their ways towards the beaches and assault the Citadel from there."

"That is unwise, we would be overwhelmed," Hiccup said as Hogun nodded in affirmative beside him, "By the time the ships docked at the port, the disembarking, the mustering of the men, even the charge up to the Citadel would probably take hours. We are definitely good, but we are not invulnerable and hundreds of men could definitely overwhelm nine- I mean eight."

All White Hands looked down at the table, they saw Kaldr's face darken at the mention of Nine for it has always been nine senior members of the cadre that always rides out. With the loss of Portio however, their numbers fall down to eight, "If all options spell doom for us, or not even have a small chance of succeeding, then do we have other tactics we could utilize then?"

"We would employ a solution to this predicament that they would not actually expect," the Heir of Berk pointed to a man with his chin tattooed like a blue-colored beard.

Everyone else turned to Eret as Stoick tilted his head in wonder. What in the Nine Realms was his son thinking again?

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Bog-Burglars Island

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Camicazi rode her dragon hard, the pieces are all moving into place, the great enemy has returned to their citadel with one of their friend's as their prize. She could not stand as the enemy bask in their victory and Astrid, though rivals in love, languish in the hands of those hellions. Volunteering to go back after receiving training from dragon riding with the Riders and having the White Hands train her more in the arts of the sword. Hiccup also agreed it is time for her to go back to her own tribe and fulfill the rest of the bargain they discussed months before. So, she headed quickly to her own tribe as the wind whistled on her ears.

Riding hard as the sun sets from the horizon, the Bog-Burglar tribe spotted her flight from afar. Alerting everyone of her approach, the whole island was already battle-ready as she touched down on the village center. A very large woman barged through the ring of amazon warriors and gaped at her as she jumped down from her purple-yellow Nadder and patted it affectionately.

"Stand down Cortana," Camicazi stroked her Nadder as its spines bristled at the approach of the warriors, "It's me Helga, remember me? Helga, do you not recognize my face?"

The large amazon approached slowly while lowering her weapon, her eyes were locked into the Chieftess's daughter and finally reached her after a few steps. "Bless the Gods lass, we knew you were taken by the Berkians. How did you escape?"

"We don't have much time, I need to speak with mother-"

"-they are gathered in chambers, up at the Longhouse lass."

"Come Cortana," she took off at break neck speed with her dragon close behind her, the other amazons dived for cover as she ran through them with a thumping Nadder barreling behind her. Utilizing her skill for free-running, no crate was stepped on, no fence too high for her as she skillfully maneuvered through the village. In not time at all, Camicazi reached the longhouse while the door guards tensed at the sight of an unknown warrior landing right in front of them. She swept her riding cloak as her purple dragon Cortana, sidled up next to her. The guards gaped at them as the dragon dutifully stood beside them just outside the door as the young woman threw the doors open and the sound of many people talking all at the same time flooded her ears. The heat inside the halls was a blessing compared to the punishing winds of the North outside. There was a full council tonight, a few elderly women that used to be the previous top warriors of the Burglars formed a semi-circle near Chieftess Bertha as she discussed in whispered voices with them their agenda. Kalina, her elder sister was also engaging conversation with their mother, Camicazi sighed. There were numerous additions to her armor, probably due to the loss to Hiccup, but her own brown wavy hair was tied up into a high ponytail and her large sword resting on the side of the table.

The whole meeting was made up of all 'senior' warriors of the Bog-Burglars, no men were present though as all women talked animatedly with each other. Make no mistake though even though the village is made up mostly of women, there are still a few men in the village, those few that have deemed to give their woman the reign on their lives, and have casted all their male 'machismo' for a life with their loved one.

Chieftess Bertha was bent down discussing something with her eldest daughter, while all around them sounds of numerous voices speaking all at the same time suddenly stopped as Camicazi stepped near the fire pit and the light illuminated her face. A minute of silence descended through the whole hall as nobody moved, and none seemed to breathe too. You could hear a pin drop from the silence. But Kalina stood on her feet and raced towards her younger sister, she swept Camicazi up and almost snapper her ribs in a bone crushing hug.

Then the room exploded in cheer.

"We missed you Camicazi!"

"How in the world did you escape lass?"

"We thought you were dead!"

Everybody fawned over her as each and everyone of the amazons around them cried out in relief, excited and bursting with joy at the return of their princess. They showered her with all the attention due to her as all had the prior knowledge that she was taken by the Berkians for their own nefarious purposes. The only one there that didn't jump to their feet and scream with joy was Big-Breasted Bertha. She knew her daughter was safe, and she knew that by the end of the day Camicazi would be so much better, not just in battle, but acquire the one thing that Hiccup promised them that would definitely put their small tribe at ease by boosting their defenses.

The ability to train dragons.

She somewhat struggled to approach her mother with the womenfolk all fawning over her. Camicazi finally reached the table where her mother sat, her already disheveled appearance amused her mother as the other Amazons pulled her left and right into bear hugs. Her mother leaned down into her and gave her a kiss on her forehead, she pulled back and smiled sweetly at the matriarch, "If I have known I would be assaulted by bear-hugs when I get back, I should have stayed at Berk!"

"They just missed you," her mother whispered and then gave her a hug, "Seriously kid, what's happening now?"

Camicazi nods her head and stands up while clapping her hands, the rowdy group of Amazons quickly quieted down as the family heads all looked at her as she deftly took out a crystal sphere from Hiccup. Bertha recognized it immediately, it was the same kind of crystal where he showed them their treachery, but with the discovery of that plot, they somehow managed to maneuver their forces and quietly pulled out of the Coalition's tight grasp. Just in time though, as soon as she finished purging their ranks, word reached her of the assassination of the Uglithugs Chieftain and the rise to power of a new Chief. This new Chief practically held sway over the elders of the Uglithugs who immediately rallied behind Grug as soon as word of Ug's demise reached their ears.

With practiced skill, Camicazi positioned the crystal sphere on the middle of the table and gently puts her hand on top of it. Light began pouring out of the object as the image of Hiccup coming out in hologram made gasp all around the gathered women folk.

"What is this sorcery?"

"Camicazi! Is this a stone from one of the Gods?"

"By all that is Holy! Isn't he a really small God!"

The Burglar Princess face-faulted in disbelief, really? A small God?

Everybody, except her, Kalina and Bertha reeled back as the voice boomed through the whole longhouse.

_"Chieftess Bertha, if in the event that you are seeing this message means we are now calling upon the terms of the alliance that we had."_

_"We call forth the full might of the Bog-Burglars to join the Uglithugs in a blockade against the Coalition Stronghold in the waters off of their islands. We ask for nothing except to destroy all ships escaping that does not fly our flag. We hope that in two days from now we would meet you and your swift fleet of longships on the outskirts of the Sea of Calm."_

_"Chieftess, I cannot stress how important it is of the speed that we quickly assault their place of refuge. One of our own has been captured and it is absolutely necessary that we bring their walls down, for the misery they inflicted on us cannot be easily undone."_

With the image of Hiccup flickering as the message ended, the other Amazons looked around in silence as one brave soul from the back finally asked.

"What is going here then?"

Big Bertha stood up and raised her hands to address her confused tribe, "In the past weeks, Camicazi had been the prisoner of the Berkians. But it was all a ruse."

"What do you mean Chieftess?" an elder woman slammed her palm on the wooden table, the crystal sphere jumped from the table and rolled to the side where Camicazi thankfully caught it.

"The Berkians have eyes everywhere, our perception of their Heir- Hiccup, was not in the least bit accurate."

She stood up and began looking at each and every eye that was looking at her, "He has the skills to take on legions of men, he has the fortitude to wade through a sea of bodies and come out still breathing, his power is unimaginable, even I was unable to measure its bottom."

"He seems to be all-powerful in your words."

"Truly our mother does not lie," Kalina interjected hotly, "I have clashed blades with him and all his strikes carry weight in them it shook my knees and made me feel weak. I do not wish to accept it, for my pride hurts at accepting that such a young man could easily best me, but I am a mere babe compared to him. The Gods had blessed him, made his movements inhuman and unnatural it would be folly to fight him one on one."

"That is the truth," Camicazi also joined in, "I have trained my body and my swordsmanship with the same teachers that he fought with in the battles that the Gods sent them to. I can only say my conviction and desire to live was the only thing that kept me alive-" the young woman looked down and shook her head, "We were as good as him, as fast as him, we can even keep up with him."

"But the years of warfare cannot be undone, his body had adjusted to a life of war and conflict that all his actions in battle are instinctive. His mind too is as sharp as his blade, the God Loki trained him personally in the arts of the mind, and as he demonstrated again and again at the arena and I'm sure to others that have been with us when he assaulted the longship and 'carried' me off as a prisoner-"

A few Amazons nods their heads, the brazen taking of Camicazi and their ship's crippling by the young man and his Night Fury could not be easily forgotten. They could not remember the clash of blades, but the terror stand rooted on their mind. A constant reminder of the horror and skill their new allies are capable of inflicting against them.

"So, I have accepted the terms of their alliance- with the supposed capture of Camicazi and being held hostage at Berk, we could easily turn back to our borders and hide the rearmament of our fleet in the guise of our impending attack at Berk," Chieftess Bertha shook her head, "Only he had the foresight to orchestrate the capture of the future Chieftain of the Uglithugs and gaining useful insights inside the workings of the Coalition, he also allowed us to circumvent any forces unfaithful to the Burglars tribe-"

An old woman stood up and raised her voice, "I still say the banishment of Nikita's clan is complete folly."

"We had no choice, they were the only clan that was adamant to rallying the Burglars and pledge loyalty to the Coalition after the 'taking' of Camicazi," Bertha countered, "Do you not see that Hiccup gave me the excuse I will need to see if there are agents working against me in my own tribe? Voices of dissent I have overlooked for the benefit of you being simply disgruntled at my decisions, but Nikita's clan is different from you lot. They have tried to completely undermine my authority numerous times and tried to commandeer the port, the fleet, even attempted an armed coup d'etat against me. I was just lucky that I have all these girls and their own mother's love, Nikita was also lucky I felt benevolent on letting her and her usurpers go and establish their own family away from here."

"Plus, Hiccup spared Grug and have handed him the Chiefdom of the Uglithugs- that old queer bastard finally got his slimy hands on the reins of power," Kalina hissed in disgust, "You have to hand it to the Berkian Heir though, to think so far ahead and in such detail and order. It is unbelievable."

"Is that why we're throwing our lot to them now?" the single voice of dissent, the elder woman who was speaking up a while ago also stood up, "Shall we go to war for these... these_ 'men'_?" the word _'men'_ came out like puke out of her lips.

Big-Breasted Bertha stood up and nods her head in finality, "Aye, we would join them in the blockade. We would honor them as much as they have honored us. We will join the '_Víkinga stéttarfélagið'_ and we would crush our enemies."

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Uglithug Island

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The Uglithugs Council composed of seven family heads, six men to represent the six major clans of the tribe and the elected Chief makes it seven. Ruthlessness and bloody cunning, Ug was feared as a heavy-handed leader, quick to anger and laden with punishment, many cowed at the time of his rule. However, with the assassination of Ug by 'unknown assailants' it has come down to his second of kin, _Grug the Fair, _to take the reins of leadership. The man sighed as he rubbed the sore spot on his shoulder where Hiccup impaled him with his own bodyguard's sword, that torturing git, if he hadn't truly spared him then his life would have ended on that sandy strip of land in the middle of the sea. Although many people loved him for being fair and square in most of his dealings, some hated him for being the queer that he is. His clandestine meetings with slaves of 'pleasure' would not be kept secret for long, and this earned him the ire of his elder cousin, however with the death of Ug he is now free to do as he pleases, and his ascension to power he owed deeply to one man.

Now that doesn't make his cousin weak in his eyes, on the contrary, Ug survived six assassination attempts and he managed to wiggle out of it all. The White Hands however are not simple attackers, just four of them managed to slay his whole cadre of bodyguards and leave in the middle of a fleet of longships. He saw them from afar, a group of men dressed in white scale armor that he have never seen before, he could never forget the look of terror on his cousin face though as an enemy appeared from nowhere and snuffed his life easily. Grug shook his head, the six elders looked up to him now for leadership, though he maybe younger in years, his body pathetically weak for a Viking, yet his mind is definitely more cunning than his cousin. Maybe that's why he managed to get those privileges before, however with the loss he could now be the one doling out the privileges, all thanks to Hiccup.

A Terrible Terror landed neatly on the middle of the table as all seven pairs of eyes turned to it.

Ah yes. Hiccup finally calls.

"What is a dragon doing here?" a clan head took out his sword and began to approach the waiting dragon. Grug however gestured with his hand as he beckoned for the creature to approach, "Wait clan leader- its carrying something on its back."

The dragon offered the crystal it was carrying and as soon as he took it the Terror quickly took off and went out of an open window. The other family heads looked at Grug as he twirled and inspected the crystal on his hand.

"It is a beautiful crystal."

"Where did it come from Chief?"

The new Chief contemplated his answer and something clicked into his mind, "This came from Berk."

"How did you know? one of the leaders asked, "Is it connected to the assassination of the former Chief?"

"Speak none ill of our new allies, their machinations allowed you and your colleagues to take the authority that you have lost in the rise of Ug to being Chieftain," Grug shook his head and stroked the crystal lightly, it emitted a hued light and he held it out in his palm, "It seems our new allies are now calling on the favor we have been given."

A small image of Hiccup materialized from the crystal as his voice resonated around the small hall they were

_"Chief Grug, I greet you well for taking the reins of leadership for the Uglithugs."_

_"We call forth an allegiance that would greatly benefit your tribe in the long run, we hope that in two days from now we would meet you and your swift fleet of longships on the outskirts of the Sea of Calm. Blockade the entrance to the Coalition's port and the waters surrounding their island with all the ships you can muster. It is time to end this problem with these non-human interlopers."_

_"I promise you that the Coalition Citadel, its surrounding waters, and its island would belong to the Uglithug tribe as your own protectorate as soon as hostilities is finished. Do this and I pledge these things to take pass, do this not and we shall think you no ill will until you change the status quo."_

Grug and the rest of the clan heads sneered at that, the meaning was clear,_ 'Not until the Uglithugs decide to attack us, then we will grind you to the ground.'_

_"Time is off the essence and we will know of your answer if we see your sails in the horizon in two days. Two days Grug to rally your forces, for we cannot tally longer than that."_

The hologram flickered and the crystal was finally silent.

Silence descended upon the meeting as Grug cleared his throat and said, "Well, I think its fair."

"Agreed," three family heads said in unison.

"How many is their remaining fleet based on our spies?"

"About 20 ships of different make, mostly slave ships and very few real warships to call them, but so far most of them are called out of port," the family head looked down on a piece of parchment and sighed, "It seems they have caught scent of the impending attack, this is a report of all their ships to return to the Citadel at all cost, and at all speed."

"Hmm, they'll probably reach the island in three days, two if they continue to sail even at night."

Grug nods his head in understanding, "We could finish preparation in a day maybe, plus sail on the night of the first day."

"We can cut them off before they even arrive at Citadel."

"How many longships do we have?"

"Enough to counter them, 15 to be exact, not including the coastal boats that we employ."

"Then it is settled, we would prepare tomorrow and depart at the coming moon rise."

A family leader spoke, "Is this really wise? To go against those unnatural beings of supposedly tales and myths. How can victory be assured?"

"I do not know how I can assure you of our victory, or what fate awaits us if all would be lost," the new Chief smiled and encouraged his peers, "I will not stand still while someone else ruled over us. We must be free, free to see fit what to do for our lands, free to listen to what our people would say and think of us. This freedom equates all men and what fairly binds us together. No, I will not stand by while the Coalition place a yoke on our necks and holds our allegiance by their bony hands. We will fight with the Berkians and join the '_Víkinga stéttarfélagið'_."

Cheers from the six elder heads as they all affirmed his decision. Outside war drums began sounding as the wheels of the war machine started moving.

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Coalition Citadel

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A guard shook his head at his misfortune, it has been hours since his shift ended. However, the Lords of the Coalition deemed they must have double shifts to keep more eyes open. Not that they have any choice about it, the attrition of serving these elves could be damaging to morale. They do pay handsomely for their efforts, and now he was able to give a house to his family back in the Imperial Capital, but the brutality is kind of... umm, getting stale. He sighed and shook his head but dared not speak out his troubles. It is said that the Lord Neroth has placed ears on the walls and could hear every voices of dissent and malcontent.

It wasn't just the first that they saw mass executions of their own men who have voiced resistance and quarrels to the supposed privacy of their quarters.

Regardless of his woes, the Citadel would remain in high alert. Reports of the slave fleet returning have trickled down the line, but it would take them at least a day or two to get here. Time they probably might not have. Plus, the prisoner that Lord Neroth brought with him still remained chained and kept in a separate cage inside his own chambers. A steady procession of women had came through it, but none came out alive breathing, the last one could have probably shared the same fate. Shame, for she was such a beauty, long blonde hair and ocean-blue eyes, a barbarian no doubt judging from her state of dress. She's probably a daughter of a Chieftain, or a child from one of those Viking warriors who joined them most of the time.

Regardless of her origins, once you entered their chambers and have finished entertaining them, then you would be thrown to the mass graves or sent off to the slave ships to be sold in servitude. Sighing deeply again, he picked up his wooden shield, strapped on his sword and leaned his spear on his shoulders. Time for patrol again on the beach.

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From the side windows of the Citadel, the four eyes of Neroth stared to look out of the horizon. He rubbed his still healing wound that he obtained while fighting with the Berkians a week ago. These Midgardians are truly something else, is that why the Exodite elves heeded the words of Lord Bor and decided to stay here with these inferior races as they guarded their charge. However, after centuries of guardianship and toil for a Lord they should not have served, their dedication to duty eventually snuffed out their race. Mixing in with the natives, or even war and death, not even their advanced technology could save them from this degradation. The Dark Elf shook his head and sighed, he turned to a pedestal where an old tome rested. He flipped through exquisitely, selecting a page and perusing for a verse he needed.

"Ah yes, the Exodites were master makers and they would have utilized that to make weapons, or at least a platform to bypass the restrictions made by simple physics."

Neroth rubbed his chin and tilted his head, he uttered the verse he found and slowly his chest wound started to mend itself very, very slowly. The sorcerer regretted that he underestimated the Riders from Berk, he literally had to make a hole on his heart and puncture it so that the poison of the _'Kursed'_ spell would not consume him. He gave a small laugh as the recovery pained him so. But pain is good, and that would ensure his continued use of the Immaterium. A grunt and a rattling of cage reached his ears, smiling evilly he walked towards an adjoining room. Passing numerous naked bodies of women, slaves he ravaged sexually and repeatedly, either passing out or dying in exhaustion. Now that his strength is easily sapped by his wound, he requires continued nourishment and this new prize he obtained from the Midgardians could probably satisfy him at the least. However, if he could preserve her and then show the torture to Hiccup then his strength would be considerably bolstered.

Astrid looked down at her captor as Neroth's four eyes looked at her from head to foot, his smile deceivingly pleasant for such a loathsome creature.

"Hi there."

"Your charm just jumped off the window."

The Dark Elf laughed, "Oh, truly your wit and tongue would amuse me greatly. I just hope your orifice would give me much entertainment in the coming days."

"You'll never take me without a fight," a sudden fear gripped her heart as she remembered her own purity, damn it, why didn't she just jumped Hiccup at the first chance she got.

"I know, I know that woman... and for that the conquest would be so much more fulfilling," out of nowhere he conjured a sinister looking whip as he grinned evilly at her, his four eyes glowing with power, "Your screams will do for now."

From outside two sentries looked at each other as Astrid's screams of pain pierced through the door together with the whip-crack of a bullwhip, they gave each other a knowing look. So, the slave he brought home is already suffering, they wondered when those screams of pain would turn to screams of ecstasy. Both sighed and stared dreamily at the ceiling, she was quite beautiful with long blonde hair and ocean-blue eyes, maybe they'll have a go at her after the Lord Neroth already has his fill. It was not uncommon for slaves to be passed around, especially those that interested the Lords of the Coalition, they would be utterly used and ravaged before being sold off to the slavers. Yes, yes, they will wait, and they shall have their share of her screams of ecstasy.

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Meanwhile

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A lone figure stood on the top of a ridge overlooking the small town of Berk. Lights reached his eyes as another stranger approached from the shadows and bowed lightly. His approach disturbed no grass, nor branches snapped, but even with the silence the lone figure turned to him and returned the gesture.

"Master," the voice was distorted but the whisper carried clear through his mask, "The pieces are ready, we would soon join in battle and with it our prize would come."

"What does Asgard know?"

"None, the soldiers they have sent are too few... just the Warrior's Three would not be enough to know of our plans. Not even Lord Heimdall could see our motives."

"It has been his weakness that they could not see. His focus on things unnecessary, on what he truly felt is set. There are many things hidden from his eyes, and he hasn't got the time to know how to see through it."

The servant bowed again and said, "What about complications?"

"You mean 'those' deaths?" the master turned to the ridge and sighed, "It is necessary, we cannot bend the hand of fate so easily, for such trivial things as death. For now, we must acquire our prize, for if we do not, we could not move forward with the purging."

"As you command," the servant retreated to the shadows and vanished.

The master stepped to the edge of the cliff and looked up into the sky, the moon light illuminated half his face. A strong pointed chin and a handsome nose, black flowing hair and golden-green eyes, he gave the heavens a laugh and vanished into thin smoke.

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**To be continued...**

**Author's note:**

All right! Read and review then! Thanks to SMr. Freeze for giving an idea about the name of the alliance.

ALSO PLEASE DON'T BASH ME! I REALLY DON'T WANT TO TORTURE ASTRID, but sometimes you just have to bite the bullet.

'_Víkinga stéttarfélagið' = Viking Union_

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Thank you everyone,

Scarabeye3000


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